


Returning to Him

by Hikaru_Uchida



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Attempt at Humor, BAMF Uchiha Itachi, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rebirth, Team as Family, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:27:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 53,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27687599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hikaru_Uchida/pseuds/Hikaru_Uchida
Summary: What if, after getting caught by Madara, Kyuubi sends Naruto back? But what if he makes everything change, yet it gives Naruto a chance to set everything straight?
Relationships: Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Uchiha Fugaku/Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Itachi/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 38
Kudos: 180





	1. Prologue: Death

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Readers! I am posting this here, but it is on FF too. It'll be a slow update as I did say I would frequently upload once I was finished with this story. 
> 
> I want to address the fact that many people will think Mitsuko/Naruto Marysue-ish. The reasons as to why I don't think that is the case is these points:
> 
> A) Mitsuko has Naruto’s memories of that until Chapter 597 when Naruto already has Kurama on his side and has mastered everything but that which the Sage of Six Paths bestows to him and Sasuke.  
> B) Mitsuko’s family -on Minato’s side- is very powerful when it comes to how much Chakra they have. This will be very important in later chapters, and it will be addressed. This may also make her more Marysue, but trust me, she will work hard to utilize all of the abilities I have given her.  
> C) Kurama gave her a part of his soul to her (plus other things that will be addressed soon), meaning he gave her specific memories of his past life and an incredible amount of chakra.  
> D) Mitsuko/Naruto is able to advance really quickly because of her usage of the Kage no Bushin no Jutsu, which we all know is a way for her to master new jutsus in a matter of days (this being an incredibly strong jutsus).  
> E) The youngest ninja to graduate the academy was Kakashi at age 5 (or so we are made to believe,) and became chunin at 6. Jiraya and the others graduated at 6. So I hope Mitsuko, with the memories of a sixteen-year-old self, can do all of this at the tender age of 4.  
> F) Let's not forget Itachi, too, had needed to defend himself before the third-shinobi war ended before his fifth birthday.

A body of a sixteen-year-old boy floated in the air. Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto was being drained of the nine tail’s chakra.

Madara watched as the boy spilled the red chakra from his mouth and eyes; he heard the painful screams of the last Uzumaki and enjoyed it.

To think that his foolish descendant tried to keep the boy from his hands. To him, Uchiha Itachi was a threat, but only when he was breathing and pumping blood through his system, now, the once great prodigy was nothing to him. There was no one else to stand in his way to completion. 

He kept watching as the boy flinch and twitch as the energy left his body, emptying him from his life source.

Madara smirked as he saw the boy slowly die with both eyes, the Sharingan and the Rinnegan. His hands twitch a bit with anticipation; it was finally time to create his ultimate weapon and set his plans into action. Everything looked perfect to him until he saw the complex change on both of Naruto’s chakra network and that of the Kyuubi’s; he frowned deeply and tried to figure something out.

-.-.-.-

_The pain he felt was like nothing he ever felt before. The cells of his body were ripping and rebuilding themselves at the same time, but each share of pain was more so than what he ever imagined. He screamed as the feeling of fire burned him, and the ice froze him, all in the same time-space, yet he felt everything._

_He wanted it to end, Naruto wished he could do something about it, but knew he had absolutely no power what so ever._

_It didn’t help that the howls of the fox that was being ripped from his soul echoed in Naruto’s mind. It was profound and so very heartbreaking. Naruto wanted to fall into darkness; at least then, he would not die alone. At least by the time Kurama was entirely out of him, he would be with the many souls that tried to protect him, yet were unable to fight the evil._

_He heard an extremely painful yell from the fox, and then he was face to face to the cell, which was slowly dissolving. Naruto panted and looked at the fox; those crimson orbs that were in so much pain look right back at him,_ **“Kit,”** _he said slowly, the blond was shocked for a second, it was the very first time to have been called that by the demon._

_“Kurama,” he replied weakly._

_The fox stared down at him and hissed as more power left him,_ **“I can take you away from this place;** **give** **you a second chance in life – to know and feel happiness** **,”** _he told the boy who stared at him in complete shock._ **“You just have to promise me that you will do everything in your power to kill that son of a bitch,”** _he growled out._

_Naruto looked at the fox wide-eyed, “How?” he whispered, stunned._

**“I’ll send you back, but you’ll have to go on without me,”** _he replied. The blond looked horrified._

 _“But I’ll die without you!” he yelled. Naruto was scared_ _about the mere thought that Kurama would not be there with him._

**“No kit, you won’t. I’ll leave a small portion of my soul and power to you,”** _he stated and closed his eyes as yet another wave of pain shook him._

_The Uzumaki looked at the Biju in complete amazement, “But what will I do? How will I help?” he asked worriedly._

**“By loving and forgiving. By stopping idiots and changing them. By helping and saving your family and mate,”** _he told him seriously, Naruto looked at him wide-eyed._

_“How?” he asked weakly._

**“By turning the sands of time and changing you into something that you should have been so you could save us all,”** _he told the human boy._

_Naruto blinked and looked at the canine, “What I should have been?” he asked, confused, “And what is that?” he wondered._

_Kyuubi sighed weakly,_ **“You’ll find out the minute you give me your answer,”** _the fox stated, and the blond nodded._

_“Alright, I accept,” he answered, and the fox smirked, but not his usual smirk. No, this time, it was a content smirk, with a bit of amusement added in it._

**“Goodbye, kit and everything that you should know will be returned to you the minute you need it,”** _the fox told the Namikaze, and then_ blank _, there was nothing_ _just an empty, endless space_ _._

_Naruto glared but was glad that the pain was gone. He looked around, and then he heard an enraged scream, and so, he was falling into the endless whiteness._

-.-.-.-

Madara was looking intensely at the boy, minutes had passed, and still, the same chakra flow came from him. When he was about to shrug it off, the channel stopped entirely and disappeared. No, no, no, no, _no!_

“NO-O!” he yelled, startling everyone else. The young Uchiha looked at him with a crooked brow, and then at his once called friend, he saw as the orb of chakra vanished from Naruto, and the limp boy fell to the ground. Madara jumped and caught the body and set him on the ground, “Kabuto! Get down here, **_now,_** ” he growled.

The silver-haired medic-nin did as he was told and checked on the boy, a quick scan through the chest, and he pushed his glasses up his nose, “He’s… dead,” the man replied, confused, Madara looked at him with anger.

“ **What?** ” he hissed.

The medic looked at him, sternly, “There is absolutely nothing I can do. He had a stroke or something; it was something natural. It’s something I cannot fix,” he stated and got up, “What will you do now?” he asked, but his only answer was a stab on his stomach and through his left lung and some muscles on the heart.

“What do you think?” he said and pulled his kama from him.


	2. 1: Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itachi meets a new friend.

_October 10 th_

He ran through the forest with all of the speed he had. Even with his special technique, he forgot to place a seal of the Hiraishin seal near them. _‘How was I stupid enough to forget it!’_ he asked as he _finally_ got where he was needed the most. With the beginning of the war, he wasn’t very sure when he would be called, but he was convinced that it would be _after_ his kid was born.

After all, The Sandaime wasn’t as cruel as to send him away when his wife would be in labor, _and_ he wouldn’t be stupid enough to send him away while he was the only one that could help his wife deliver their child without a problem. He landed in front of the two ANBU guarding the entrance; he nodded to them and went in just as he entered, his ears filled with more curses and threats towards him than ever before.

Who would be dumb enough to do that to recently named The Yellow Flash? Well, none other than his beautiful, pregnant wife… that had gone into labor a few hours ago.

Namikaze Minato walked in and almost ran to his beloved’s side, “Hey Kushina,” he said softly, but the panting redhead only glared at him.

“I swear that once I’m through with this, I will get you, and I will get you good!” she hissed and gasped as a contraction hit her hard.

The blond ninja whimpered at the sudden pressure on his hand, “‘Shina, I need my hand,” he told her with a bit of humor, but she only growled and let go, grabbing hold of the wood by her sides instead.

The seal master sighed and placed his right hand on top of her swollen belly, just where the seal of the Kyuubi rested, and gripped his wrist with his left. Tsunade looked at him and nodded, “I need you to concentrate on the seal only; I don’t care if she yells with pain or threatens you to castrate you. Your task is only the seal!” she told him seriously. Nodding, he looked at his wife, “I’ll do the rest. Trust me, she won’t go anywhere as long as I’m doing this,” the blonde medic assured him.

Minato gulped and looked at the seal and glace at his redhead love every two minutes or so. Kushina was known for her endurance, but right now, she looked as if she was in pain no one could bear, “Are you sure she’s okay?” he asked worriedly, sweat starting to form on his forehead.

Tsunade glared at him, “Yes,” she growled and turned back to her task.

Uzumaki grunted loudly and gripped the wood handles with amazing strength, her face flushed, and she shut her eyes tightly. Tsunade gasped, “Keep pushing! I see the head,” she ordered. Minato glanced at his right side, and his breath hitched. He could see a small head filled with blonde and red locks.

He looked at his wife, “You can do it, Kushina!” he smiled, but then he felt the fox try to push his way out. “Don’t you dare! Stay there, Kyuubi,” he ordered with panic as Kushina whimpered and arched a bit. “Come one, kid. Hurry up and get out,” he pleaded as he added more chakra to the seal; he watched as Tsunade caught a little body and pulled it out. He gasped when he heard the small cries of his kid. Kushina panted, her legs trembled, and Kushina looked at the baby in Tsunade’s hands. The little body of her precious soul was cover with blood and placenta; she watched as the baby was handed to her midwife to clean them up.

She gasped and fell on the mat, her breaths ruffed, and she felt the pressure of the demon. Minato snapped back into reality and quickly redid the seal, “It’s okay, love. I’ve got it,” he told her as he closed the seal shut.

The redhead sighed as she felt the lit back on, on the fox. A warm hand came to grab her, and she smiled, “Where…?” she asked, but both saw Tsunade come close with their kid.

“Congratulations, it’s a beautiful girl!” Tsunade praised as she placed the still crying girl in her arms.

Both admired the life they had created. The little girl had blond hair with sprinkled red highlights, “It seems she a perfect mix of The Namikaze and Uzumaki clans,” the Sannin told them with a gentle smile.

Minato nodded, “Thank you,” he said without looking at her; he only had eyes for his little girl. Kushina looked at him with teary eyes, “You did great,” he whispered gently, kissing her forehead and brushed a finger on the baby’s face.

A set of perfect pink lips trembled a bit, faint marks on her cheeks and a small nose, “She’s perfect,” Kushina said.

Minato laughed, “Yes, she is. We did a pretty good job,” he stated proudly.

“Heck of a good looking girl,” she agreed.

Tsunade left them to clean up the hidden cave and to give the new family some alone time. Of one thing they were right, they made one good looking girl; but she will have to be careful if she doesn’t want an overprotective father.

The red habanero looked at Minato with shining eyes, “Thank you!” she said and kissed him softly.

The blond shook his head, “No, thank _you,_ ” he stated with a smile. He looked at his daughter, “No matter what she does; she will always be pure,” he said and looked at his Uzumaki, “Mitsuko… our Mitsuko!” he declared, and she nodded.

“That’s a beautiful name, our child of light,” she smiled.

Minato nodded, smiling at them, and sighed contently. All he needed now was to wait until he was called for duty.

**_4 Years later…_ **

A blonde girl ran down the street, no one was in it, as the war kept going. She had started to remember all parts of her life as Uzumaki Naruto, yet she felt like this is how it should have been in the first place.

She laughed humorlessly as she passed the vacant streets of Konoha. Sure, things were looking up for her in the matter of family, but in this era, she could not be happy.

With the things she has seen now, she understood why Itachi had been the way he was. Why he did what he did. She admired and respected him greatly, yet, she could change so much, starting with the attack that’s coming up in a year and a few months. With the body of a 4-year-old by then five-year-old and the mind of a 16-year-old, she could do so much. Especially when she remembered _all_ of her old techniques.

She had thought that without Kyuubi inside of her, she would lose a considerable amount of chakra, but it was something she could deal without. After all, after she re-masters Sage mode, it would be as easy as pie to get Rasengan down. Still, she never would have imagined having as much chakra as she did back in her time as Naruto; it was something she was grateful for.

Uzumaki Mitsuko ran to a remote part of the village; she forced her little legs to go as quickly as they could.

It was a time of war, and no one could tell if the enemy could get in and attack, but she was well trained… at least of what she remembered as Naruto. This part of the village was on the east part of Konoha, by Inuzaka Clan Compound –though it was a bit far- and the river; Training ground 8.

She was sneaky, maybe as she used to be, or perhaps just a little more. She couldn’t believe how much difference her parents made in her life; Mitsuko was being praised by the Third Hokage and the two Sannin -Tsunade and Jiraiya- for being a prodigy. She knew it had a lot to help with her memories, but still. It was so much easier to accomplish something when asking her father –her mother was as bad as she was- for help or to answer a question.

She was going to train the simple task of ‘do not move.’ She knew it would be very hard without the oil, but she had managed so far and has gotten some extreme results. Just at the tender age of four, and she was only transforming a bit into a toad, just a bit _less_ than Jiraiya, but that was good. Mitsuko was very surprised when she found out how good she was at controlling her chakra… it might have to do with Kyuubi not being inside of her, or something.

After four months of practicing, and she was able to collect enough nature chakra to rip a tree from the ground and throw it 100 yards away at the height of 50 yards. She was proud of herself and was excited to see her parent’s faces when she showed them.

When she got to her destination, she saw all the piled snow and smiled; she had always admired it for its pureness. She sighed as she walked to a tree and sat down, and started her training. Ten minutes later, she opened her eyes, and they were golden, slightly red shade on her temples and eyelids, nose slightly sharp, and her skin was somewhat rough. She sighed; it was the closest she had gotten since her training, and she could feel the energy of… well, everything.

Mitsuko got up and flexed. She warmed up and started to use Frog Kata with two Kage bunshin she learned long ago.

All of the time, she felt the coming and going energy of birds and small animals, but then she felt a source of chakra heading her way. She closed her eyes and tried to guess how far it was and how much time it would reach her. To her surprise, it was from a kid about her age. She sighed, and her clones puffed away; she slowly let go of the nature chakra she had collected after one more scan over the area.

She waited for the expected five minutes to reach where she was, and five more, but no one showed up. The blonde-red head frowned; she looked at the way the kid had been coming from and headed that way.

A few minutes later, she found a boy. He had deep gray, almost black hair that reached above his shoulders, olive skin, sharp, beautiful obsidian eyes with two small lines going down the sides of his nose… Uchiha Itachi stood a few yards away from her. She moved forward slowly, trying to see what he was doing out in the open. He was looking at the water for a long time. He was still unaware of her.

The Uzumaki tilted her head to the side in wonder; what was he looking at? What was he trying to find? These and more questions popped into her curious mind. She stopped on the other side of the river and placed her hands behind her back, intertwining her fingers; she looked at him curiously, but Itachi didn’t acknowledge her presence.

The Uchiha was so concentrated in the river that he was unaware of his surroundings. It had been only a few days that he felt like the water was… calling him. He had stayed in baths for more extended periods, yet he felt it wasn’t enough. Now, here he was by the river that ran through Konoha.

Itachi was feeling something new that he wanted to explore and figure out so that he could go back to reading the scrolls his father had assigned for him while he was away on missions. He looked up to find a girl looking at him; he blinked and straightened up. The girl –that must be about his age- had wavy blonde hair with red locks that reached mid-back, big and innocent azure orbs that made him lose his reality and could only stare at them dumbly; vibrant tan skin, high cheekbones that were colored pink with the cold and three faint whiskers-like marks on her cheeks, small nose, and pink lips.

The girl was wearing blue ninja boots and long socks that reach mid-thigh while blue short-shorts and a blue and orange jacket. The girl in question tilted her head to the side, “What are you doing out here?” she asked in a sweet voice.

The Uchiha had to concentrate not to get dazed by her, “I could ask you the same,” he replied passively.

She frowned and then smiled lightly, “Well, what do you usually do in training grounds?” she asked and smirked at him. The young boy blinked and then glared at her, “So, what are _you_ doing here?” she inquired once more.

He was unable to look at the water and sighed, “I don’t know,” he told her truthfully as he gazed back into her pools of light.

She frowned at him, “What’s your name?” she questioned him softly, as if afraid to scare him away.

“… Uchiha Itachi,” he answered with a bit of hesitance. For a second, he thought that she was different, but now, he was positive that she would start to ask a million questions.

He was surprised by her cheerful smile, “Well, I’m Mitsuko, Uzumaki Mitsuko!” she told him and kept on smiling. Itachi was confused. Up until now, it only took his last name to send girls chasing after him, but here was a girl that did nothing to approach him in that matter. The blonde looked down at the water and bent down slowly to dip her hand on the cold water, “It’s calling,” she whispered to the air, but he heard her making him stand in shock.

“What?” he inquired.

Mitsuko looked at him, “It’s cooling,” she told him with a grin.

Itachi sighed and nodded, “Of course, it’s almost November,” he said in a matter of fact tone.

The girl snorted, “I know that, but it’s cooling faster… there might be a storm nearby,” she told him as she got up. Itachi looked at her with a crook brow, “What?” she asked with a bit of sarcasm. He shook his head sideways and looked at the sky. Sure enough, the clouds seemed a deep gray.

He turned his attention back to her, and she was about to take a step towards the river, “Stop!” he almost yelled, but she didn’t.

The blonde step on top of the river and walked over it. Mitsuko smiled at him when she reached him, “Haha, don’t worry about small things… well, it was nice meeting you. I have to go,” she said and started to walk away. The young boy followed her with his eyes, and she stopped, she turned to look at Itachi and her eyes were serious and a bit sad before they became calm, “See ya around, Itachi!” and with that, she ran off to her home.

Uchiha Itachi stood dumbly by the river, staring after the first girl that dared called him by his name only. His lips twitched, and then they formed a soft smile, “Later, Mitsuko,” he whispered to the air and nodded.

He turned back to the river, and then he smirked, turned around, and went home. There must be some water element scroll at home; if not, he’ll go to the library some other day.

Mitsuko opened the door of her house and went in; she smiled as the scent of her mother’s delicious meal filled her senses. The little girl took off her boots and walked in only to see her dad’s team there. She frowned but then slipped on her grin, “I’m home!” she called cheerfully.

Kushina turned around to look at her daughter and frowned a bit, “What have I told you about running off on your own?” she scolded lightly.

“To not do it,” she replied with a laugh. Obito grinned, Rin frowned, and Kakashi looked elsewhere.

The redhead glared at her daughter and then at Obito, “Don’t encourage her, and you miss, go wash your hands. We’ll talk about this later,” she told her just as Minato walked in.

“Talk about what?” he asked as his little sunshine washed her hands in the kitchen sink.

“She was out alone again,” she answered flatly.

Minato frowned, “Mitsu,’ what have we told you about that?” his father asked seriously.

The four-year-old sighed, “To not do it unless you, mommy, Obi-nii, Rin, or Kaka-kun are with me,” she answered softly.

“And what do you do?” he asked with a crook brow.

“I still do it?” she asked with an innocent smile.

“Yes, you do, but you won’t, will you?” he asked her as she sat down; all of the others watched at the two exchanged words.

“… But I can take care of myself,” Mitsuko whispered lowly.

“Mitsuko,” Minato said sternly. She looked at him from under her eyelashes.

“Daddy,” she replied with a pout.

Both Namikaze’s looked at one another until Minato sighed, “At least tell the _both_ of us when you go out,” he grumbled, and she beamed.

“Will do!” she agreed, Kushina sighed, and his team laughed -Kakashi snorted once and looked away- then they sat down to eat. Mitsuko looked at her dad after they finished eating, “How long will this mission last?” she asked passively.

Minato looked at her for a second with surprise, but he was starting to get used to it. After she turned three, she began to talk on a whole other level. It was like talking to someone older, like a young adult, not three; now it was normal, but still a bit shocking. “We have two, one will be for about a week, we might come back to report, and if they give us the okay, then we’ll set off to destroy a bride for mission two,” he told his daughter, and she froze.

All of them looked at her worried –they knew she wasn’t _that_ affected by the ninja world; she just didn’t like the way it was run- and Minato and Kushina shared a glance, “What bridge?” their daughter asked after a minute.

Minato looked at his team for a second and sighed, “The Kannabi Bridge,” he stated, and the little girl turned a bit pale and quickly glace at Obito, then at Kakashi and back to her father.

Minato narrowed his eyes as he saw her nod, “Good luck,” she said and got up, “Excuse me,” she mumbled and left the kitchen.

Kushina and Minato looked at one another, and then the way Mitsuko left, “I’ll talk to her later, you have to go,” Kushina told her husband, and he nodded.

“Alright, let’s go,” he said, and they left.

Mitsuko was looking out the window of her room. She saw the three teens and her dad leave the house and made their way to the gates; she sighed and fell on top of her bed. The blonde stared at her ceiling, worriedly, _‘What do I do? If I don’t talk to dad, then Obito will die…’_ she thought and went into deep thought until she fell asleep.


	3. 2: Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuko takes Itachi’s under her wing.

Itachi walked into the Uchiha district and headed to his home. Even in the safety of his compound, he was on edge. Though a few Uchiha were patrolling around, he felt somehow uneasy.

The boy finally reached his house and sighed; he went in and headed right to the study room where they kept most scrolls. He scanned through them and noticed that there were only a few water-element scrolls; Itachi took all of them and headed to his room. Just as he was about to head upstairs, his mother stopped him, “Itachi-kun?” the gentle voice of his mother called, he looked down at his hands and then looked at his mother. He turned to her, and her expression became curious, “What are you doing?” she asked, walking to him.

He thought about his mother’s reaction and decided to tell her even if she questioned him further. “I wanted to study these scrolls,” he voiced impassively, she blinked and looked at them.

“But they’re water elements,” she said, and he shrugged slightly, “Why do you want to read them?” she asked innocently.

“To learn them,” he replied instantly.

Mikoto smiled, “Really?” she inquired. He nodded, looking at the stairs for a second;2 when he looked back at his mother, she was smiling happily, “If you don’t understand something, come talk to me. It’s my second element, after all,” she told him and patted his head.

“Hn,” he said before climbing the stairs.

Finally, getting to his room, he flopped down on his bed and started to read the scrolls. He spent the next few hours doing this until supper was ready, “Itachi-kun, time to eat!” his mother called from the other side of his door, he sighed and got up. Rolling the scroll up, he set it on the nightstand and opened the door, “Come on, Itachi-kun, your father will be leaving tonight and won’t be here for the next two weeks,” she told him softly.

Itachi looked at her, passively, “Do you have a mission?” he asked, and she sighed.

“I leave tomorrow at dawn.”

“Hn,” the lonely prodigy grunted and went down the stairs. “So, I’ll be staying with Uncle Teyaki and Aunt Uruchi?” it was more of a statement than a question.

“Yes,” she replied quietly. The young Uchiha looked at his mother for a second before nodding and looking away.

Being the heir of the Uchiha clan and having Uchiha Fugaku as a father was a way to feel lonely, yet essential. Still, he didn’t like how ‘important’ he was. He felt used at times and was hurt by that; that’s why his relationship with his parents wasn’t so great. Sure, his mother tried to get close to him, but there was something odd about her. He felt she’s doing it too forcefully like she _had_ to do it and not that she _wanted_ to do it. 

To him, his family was… odd. There was love, but there was also a duty. For Fugaku, it was the duty as the head of the clan, the man of the house, the perfect husband and father; but with the clan and the war at the moment, it was not good. With his mother, it was the duty to be the submissive wife and kind mother. Yet, she was off in missions for the village and forcing her relationship with her son. Now for Itachi, it was the weight that came with being a Clan heir and to become the perfect son and ninja for the clan.

The one thing that neither of his parents knew was that he didn’t like the war. He didn’t like the deaths that came with it or the hatred being poured onto the battlefield. He may be four, but he still knew the difference between right and wrong; he was being forced to mature too fast, and unlike Mitsuko, he didn’t have memories of his other-self. Itachi felt alone, and he didn’t care to address it as it would only show weakness to his father and would make his mother worry and work harder.

Itachi ate his meal quietly, he felt both of his parents’ stare, but ignored it and kept on eating. His mind wandered back to the little girl he met earlier in the day and wonder who she was. Mikoto looked at her husband, and then again at Itachi, she drank a bit of her tea and cleared her throat, “Son,” she addressed.

The boy looked at her, innocently, “Yes, mother?” he asked her.

“… After this, go and pack some clothes for your stay with your Uncle and Aunt,” she said after a second of hesitation, the Uchiha nodded and finished eating.

Fugaku looked at his son and sighed, he wondered if he was doing something wrong, but his son was an Uchiha. The man closed his eyes and decided to set things right after his mission was over. By the time he opened his eyes, his son was already up and placing his plates inside the sink. Itachi then headed upstairs to make his luggage for the stay with the Uchiha couple.

He got up and went to get his things for his mission; he saw his wife frown a second before she turned around to take the dishes to the sink. Fugaku sighed, but said nothing; instead, he went to the living room and grabbed his bag. He walked to the front door and turned around to see Mikoto look at him with a worried expression, “Be careful,” she said and kissed his cheek softly.

“Don’t worry,” he told her and looked at his son come down the hall and stopped a few feet away from them. Itachi looked at his father passively, “Take care of your mother,” his dad said.

“Hn,” he replied, thinking he couldn’t do it since she was leaving him too. And like that, Fugaku left the house; right after he was out, the young Uchiha turned around and went back to his room. He needed a distraction and what better way than to study his water nature chakra?

**(-/ \\-)**

Mitsuko woke up little after seven from her nap; she blinked the sleep from her eyes and got up. The girl made her way to her door and went down the hall and headed downstairs into the kitchen. She saw her mother sitting on the table drinking some tea, “Mommy,” the blonde said softly.

Kushina looked her way and smiled, “Yes?” she asked with knowing eyes.

“I’m hungry,” Mitsuko announced, skipping to the table and sat down.

The redhead snorted, “Alright,” she mumbled and got up; the little girl smiled as her mother moved around the table to make her some sandwiches and cut them in triangles. Never would she have imagined loving something besides ramen, but here she loved everything her mother cooked for them. The older Uzumaki set the plate down along a glass of orange juice, “There you go,” she said and patted her head.

The blonde didn’t have to be told twice to dig in and munched her food down, she felt her mother’s eyes on her the entire time, but they weren’t like usual, “What is it?” Mitsuko asked without looking away from her food.

“Mitsuko… what happened during lunch?” she asked softly, the four-year-old stopped and set her piece of bread down.

“I’m worried,” she confessed after a minute of thinking.

She wanted to tell her mother, but that would mean revealing information on stuff about the future, and she didn’t want that. Also, it meant that she would have to explain herself for not telling them before and warning them about the mission, and everything that came after that. To Mitsuko, the truth was a one-way ticket to go back to loneliness and pain. She did not want that, and therefore she will keep quiet until a few days before the second stage of the mission begun.

Kushina looked at her daughter with a frown, she wanted to ask more, but there were times that her little light reflected fear. A fear she had felt when Mito-sama told her why she had been brought to Konoha in the first place, and fear to be rejected by the people she loved. The red habanero hated seeing that expression on Mitsuko’s angelic face. Still, she always tried to understand, “Can you tell me what you’re worried about?” she asked, cupping the blonde’s face to make her look at her in the eye.

The girl looked into her mother’s royal blue orbs, they shone with love and a bit of confusion, “I… I’m worried about Obi-nii and Kaka-kun,” she said softly.

Kushina blinked and smiled, “Don’t worry about them. They are strong shinobi that can take care of themselves well enough,” she replied cheerfully.

Mitsuko smiled sadly and nodded, “Yes… I know,” she stated and turned back to her meal.

The redhead sighed, “There’s something you’re not telling me,” she told her daughter.

The blonde just shrugged her shoulders, “I have a bad feeling, that’s all,” she answered after finishing her sandwich. Kushina nodded, it was true. This mission felt somehow different than the others, it felt… wrong. She hadn’t said anything about it as to not worry her, yet she caught it herself. Mitsuko was sometimes too bright for her own good; she was glad she got her father’s brains, Kushina would have enjoyed for her to be more carefree.

The Uzumaki got up and kissed her sunshine’s head as she grabbed her plate, “Would you like to sleep with me tonight?” she asked, making the girl grin.

“I would love to, Mommy,” she said and got up. “I’ll go study some scroll for a bit,” she announced as she rushed to her father’s study.

The Jinchuriki smiled and shook her head to the sides, “Never change,” she murmured to herself and turned the water on.

Mitsuko searched for some medium level water and wind elements techniques. She didn’t know which she would read first, but she decided it to be the first found, which was a wind element. She grinned and started to unroll the scroll and frowned; it was _Wind Release: Wind Cutter,_ which she had already mastered a few months back. She sighed and looked at the floor; it was already night, and she couldn’t go out, so she decided to train tomorrow.

She sighed and got up; taking a random scroll from the shelf, she exited the room and headed to the master bedroom to wait until she had to sleep.

When Kushina entered her room, she found her daughter asleep on the bed with a scroll on the top of her chest. The redhead shook her head, Kushina grabbed it, rolling it and put it on a nightstand. Then she took her child’s pants and jacket off, leaving her to a plain white shirt and underwear and settled her in bed. The yellow flash’s wife moved round to change and then slipped next to her daughter that instantly moved close to her. Mitsuko cuddle around her mother, and Kushina wrapped her arms around the small body, a few minutes later, both were sound asleep.  
  


-.-.-.-.-

The young Uzumaki woke up with the sun in her eyes, and she groaned; she turned on her stomach and moaned lowly, trying to go back to sleep. After minutes of failing, she growled and got up just in time for her stomach to whine. Mitsuko blinked sleepy and sighed; she got up and walked to the restroom.

After coming out of it, she found herself trailing to the kitchen led by the delightful aroma of the food her precious mother was cooking. “Morning, Mom!” she greeted happily.

“Mitsuko, good morning,” the redhead said as she set the meal down.

“Mom, I’ll be out after this,” the blonde said while Kushina narrowed her eyes, “Don’t worry, I’ll be within the walls of the city,” she assured before her mother could say no.

The jinchuriki sighed, “Don’t stay out too late,” she ordered. Even though she never knew what her unpredictable daughter was up to, Kushina had a feeling she would be okay.

After the meal and putting new clothes on, Mitsuko kissed her mother good-bye and left with her trenched knives. She had transformed to get them, and she got one that would fit her at the moment best –with her small hands and all- to train. Right now, she had mastered a few seals, handy and reliable wind and water techniques, her father's Hiraishin, and now this. She could also channel her chakra into her weapons.

.

The blonde got near the spot she was yesterday. The first thing Mitsuko did was gather Natural energy; this time, she was proud to say that her skin didn’t change, and the shade on her eyelids appeared. She smiled, “I’ve finally done it!” she gasped, smiling at the bird that landed on her shoulder and as some small animals got near her.

The Uzumaki smiled at them and then she shooed them away, it was time for her training, and she didn’t want anyone hurt. She put her hand up and tried to gather chakra and molt it while retaining it all without practice, she did it while remembering, and the Rasengan was reborn. She looked around and sighed; if she made a hit to one of the trees, then she would make a big eruption over the village, and she did not want to explain that!

She dispelled the technique, focusing for the next few hours with frills of Frog Kata until her nature chakra ran low. Mitsuko sighed, and this time as she tried to make the Rasengan, it took more concentration, but she did what she could never do as Naruto. Create the Jutsu on her own, no clones involved.

With that, she stopped with A-rank Jutsu and started with her wind nature practice. She had gotten down the ‘Cut the leaf in half’ a long time ago, and she was sure that she could cut the waterfall since she was able to use _Wind Release: Wind Cutter_ and other wind nature Jutsus. All she had to do was able to work with her wind nature manipulation and add it to her Rasengan.

Taking hold of her knives, she channeled the energy through them, then she spun around and swung her right hand closed to a tree without hitting it. A long scratch appeared over the trunk, just like she had wanted it and smirked. _‘Definitely, I have much better control of my chakra now than I did before,’_ she thought happily.

Instinct keeping in, she reached for the small Kunai that was hidden in one of the knives and threw it to the person that was standing by a bush a few yards away. She blinked when she saw Itachi barely jumping out of the weapon’s way, “Itachi!” she said and ran to him, he looked at her wide-eyed.

“Did you just throw a kunai at me?” he asked, stunned.

The blonde laughed sheepishly, “I’m sorry,” she sighed and then looked at him curiously.

“Why are you here?” she asked innocently.

“I… came to train,” he told her, looking away.

“Oh,” was all Mitsuko mumbled, “wanna practice with me?” she asked.

Itachi blinked and shrugged, “Sure,” he said passively.

The blonde beamed at him and started to ask what he knew, what he wanted to learn, and what he wanted to practice. The Uchiha prodigy could only reply amused and showed her the medium size fireball that he could do, even his father hadn’t seen it.

“You need to hold your chakra more and then blow softer,” she told him, and he blinked.

“What?” he asked, not sure if he heard correctly.

“At least that’s what you need to do… but you’ll need more space to do it,” Mitsuko said with a grin.

Itachi nodded and looked around; he noticed the long and sharp line on one of the trunks and blinked. About to ask about it, he heard a growl from the blonde, he looked at her and saw her blush, “Lunch break?” he asked with a small smile.

She nodded shyly, “My house?” she inquired softly.

“Hn.”

Mitsuko gathered her stuff and led the way to her home; she was humming one of the songs her mother sang when she tucked the blonde in bed. Itachi looked at her from the corner of his eye curiously; he thought she was strange but in a suitable way. The Uchiha felt comfortable with her and didn’t seem to really care who he was. Mitsuko treated him like a normal boy, with no strings attached.

They came upon a big house that was somehow close to his compound, she smiled at him and opened the door, “I’m home!” she called in her usual cheerful voice as she placed her stuff by the stairs. Kushina came to greet her and blinked as she saw the infamous Uchiha Itachi in her house. “Come in,” the blonde told him gently. The redhead looked at her daughter and smiled. If anyone could befriend the usually passive boy and get him out of his shell than it would definitely be her Mitsuko.

Mitsuko led Itachi to the kitchen and told him to wash his hands on the sink while she set the table. Kushina watched her and saw that there was something special about her attitude with him. She seemed to be careful about stuff with him, trying to be as gently as she could… almost like he needed it. Mitsuko, for some reason, could see Itachi for who he was at the moment, like an open book.

When Mitsuko first saw him, she hadn’t noticed, but now, she could see the fragile soul that could be taint so easily. The lonely boy and the future man that would give up everything for his brother and village. She felt an incredible wave of protectiveness towards him for so many different reasons, all dictating her to keep him safe. For him to be free and loved; she could do both, Naruto would take care of Sasuke once they were born, but she will take care of Itachi.

The prodigy felt somehow… at… home. It was weird, but the girl was making him unfold into ways he never got to be, and he liked it. Kushina was kind enough to not question him on the reason why he was there; instead, she asked light questions about his wishes and dreams. Both of them avoided the topic of his family and clan, for that he was thankful. Knowing someone was being polite because of the name Uchiha and not because of him; it made him sad and feel out of place.

Something was different here, he couldn’t quite place his finger on it, but it was mostly due to his new friend. He froze for a second before going back to chewing, he looked at the blonde as she talked to her mother about something completely random, and he smiled softly. Yeah, his very first friend. He liked that very much; he now knew she was different from everyone else.

The blonde turned to look at him, “Right Itachi?” she asked him.

He blinked and looked at Kushina, then at the girl, “Hn,” he said, nodding.

Mitsuko glared at him, “You weren’t listening,” she bemoaned. He looked at her, surprised, “Like I was saying, Itachi and I need a bigger place to practice. But we need supervision for that, and the only place to actually get a good practice is outside of the village, in the forest,” she explained once more. The Uchiha looked at her, shocked.

“Mitsuko, we’re at war. I can’t just go out and watch over the two of you, and no, you may not go out alone,” she stated to her pouting light.

“But Mom! I need a bigger space, and so does Itachi. I can take care of myself,” she insisted.

“Not outside of the walls, and Itachi’s parents probably won’t like to have him out,” the redhead sighed. 

Mitsuko wanted to scream that she did know war; that she had seen some things a girl of four should not even remember or ever experienced it. She had, at one point, been in her mother's shoes. If not in a more critical position, yet she could take care of her and Itachi… at least she could if there were few opponents.

The young Uzumaki sighed and looked at the prodigy; she then realized the one thing she had forgotten. Itachi’s view of war; he had become a pacifist after his experience at this age. The blonde sighed and nodded, “Fine,” she groaned, “I guess we’ll practice at the lake,” she told her mother; from the corner of her eye, she saw him relax.

“Good, now you guys can practice in the backyard, and when you are done, tell me so we can take Itachi home,” Kushina told them as she took the plates from them.

Itachi looked at the girl’s mother and smiled lightly, Mitsuko saw it and wanted to question him so desperately. She thought that he would be the center of his parents’ attention, but she guessed that growing up in a powerful family and at a time of war was not ideal. She wondered if he even got to see his parents.

The girl shook her head and grinned at him, “So, a spar?” she asked, making him smirk.

“I can’t call it that,” he told her standing up.

Mitsuko’s eyes widened, she glared, but then grin slyly, “You don’t know ‘till you try,” she said and moved to the back of the house, where the door to the backyard was.

The Uchiha followed her calmly, “Really? How so?” he asked passively. 

“Since I know I’ll kick your butt!” she smirked, opening the door to reveal a vast clearing perfect for training. The blonde was satisfied by Itachi’s expression and laughed, “Like what you see?” she asked lightly.

He snapped out of his thoughts, “Hn,” he murmured and walked out.

Mitsuko looked around, “You know we should wait a bit, we just finished eating,” she said in a matter of fact tone, he sighed knowing she was right. After all, he didn’t want to empty his stomach’s contents after the best meal he had eaten. He liked his mother’s cooking, but there was something about Kushina’s that his mom’s lacked.

“So what do we do?” he asked as she turned around to face him.

The girl placed a finger on her chin, thoughtfully, “Get to know each other better?” she asked, in case he didn’t want to. Itachi thought for a bit and nodded, what harm would it be to share a bit of himself with her? The two of them sat down under the sun’s warm rays, and away from the bits of snow, Mitsuko looked at him with a small smile.

**OMAKE! Mitsuko’s first try for Hiraishin no Jutsu**

The three and a half-year-old looked determinately at the Kunai her dad gave her in case she ever needed him. The blonde had tried to figure out how the sealing worked, but she still couldn’t get it. The only thing that she knew was that it only worked for him… and his blood relatives.

With this, the girl had started practicing with small distances, about five yards from the Kunai. She channeled her chakra and hoped it would work; her other self had done it without the three-blade Kunai, but she had guessed that it was because of Kyuubi’s chakra. The girl sighed and moved. At first, it had failed, and she had cursed.

Mitsuko walked over to where the blade rested and glared at it, she grabbed it and looked at it, “Work, damn it!” the girl growled and placed it back down. With a simple jump, she moved to the place she had been and concentrated, if Mitsuko could get this down, then she would be able to help her father and the others at any time.

She closed her eyes and tried to feel the aura of the seal as well as the connection she had with it. When she felt nothing, she frowned and opened her eyes, she gazed at the weapon calmly and then got an idea.

The heiress eagerly ran and grabbed the Kunai; she bit her thumb and brushed her blood over the seal. Coating it with a bit of chakra the blood vanished and she looked for the energy once more, when she felt it she nodded satisfied. She placed the blade down once more and walked to her spot.

Taking a few deep breaths, she leaned forward and concentrated on getting to where the seal was. When she got a good hold of it, she moved out.

Everything would have worked out if, at that second, she hadn’t wondered what her mom would make for dinner… she ended up a few yards away from the Kunai. Mitsuko found three things on this day:

One: Never, and when she means never, it meant under no circumstances does one have to wonder what one’s mother would cook for dinner while training on a space-time technique.

Two: Kyuubi’s chakra really didn’t have anything to do with her speed; she had been able to do it as Naruto with their normal chakra.

And Three: When practicing for the Hiraishin, find ample and open space, free from trees so you won’t end up like her. Bumping into a thick tree and almost being knocked out from the impact…

Yup, three good things to learn.


	4. 3: Trauma part 1

Mitsuko glanced at Itachi calmly; a few minutes had passed in comfortable silence. She really wanted to get to know him and see if she could help with something, “Favorite color?” she asked.

The boy crooked a brow, “Blue,” he said, and this time she looked at him with both eyebrows up.

“Why?” she inquired, confused. Truth be told, she always thought he would like red or black, but blue?

The boy shrugged, “I’m not sure, but blue is kind of my favorite color, the others are red and black,” he told her. “Yours?” he asked, the girl smiled.

“Orange, purple and white,” she stated proudly. “Red is there too, but they are my top three favorite colors,” she informed him, grinning.

He shook his head, “Hn.”

“What about least favorite color?”

“Pink,” he replied quickly.

The Uzumaki blinked and laughed, “Well, that’s something I agree with,” she nodded with a sigh.

“Why? I thought girls like it?” he asked her.

The girl sighed; if anyone asked, she had had enough for one life of pink. Being with Sakura had been a good experience, but now that she was a girl, she found the girl a bit annoying. She wrinkled her nose, “It’s too… pink. Too girly,” she explained and loved his expression. Pure and innocent confusion, “What? Even though I’m a girl, I won’t go and love pink for that. I’m not shallow,” she told him with a small glare.

If Itachi hadn’t thought she was weird, he did now–of course, in a good way. So here he had a girl that sees him as him and not his name while disliking the color pink, which he hates… what else do they have in common? “Hn, the season you like best?”

Mitsuko thought for a bit, “Autumn,” she finally said. “Spring is good too, but I like autumn best,” she grinned happily.

Itachi’s brow rose, okay, so there _was_ something else they both like, “Agree,” he said, looking at the sky.

“What about food? What do you like best, and what do you dislike?” she asked curiously.

“Foods with cabbage and onigiri with seaweed in it… I don’t like steak,” Itachi said with a frown.

Mitsuko tilted her head to the side and nodded, “Mine are mom’s cooking, Ichiraku ramen and dad’s red bean soup. My least favorite is fresh vegetables… unless mom makes something with them,” she said thoughtfully. Itachi snorted a bit, “What?” she narrowed her eyes.

“Nothing, it’s just that you kind of contradicted yourself,” he told her, the blonde blinked.

“Did not.”

“Did too,” he replied calmly.

“How so?” she asked.

The Uchiha smirked at her, “You said you liked your mom’s cooking while disliking fresh vegetables. Of course, she would use fresh vegetables,” he told her, and she crooked a brow.

“Not when someone else is cooking, mom does something to make them tastier than other people… like nee-chan or baa-chan, they don’t add that something,” she stated.

The young boy blinked, “Nee-chan? You have a sister?” he asked, the girl shook her head.

“No, she’s like a big sis, but she’s not mine…” she told him with a small smile.

“What about you? Do you have younger siblings or want one?” she asked softly.

The boy thought for a minute, “I don’t, but I’ll like to have a little brother,” he said softly, a small smile appeared on his face.

Mitsuko’s smile softened, _‘Don’t worry, you’ll have him,’_ she thought gently. The girl sighed and got up, “How about we begin?” she asked, offering him a hand.

Itachi looked at it and took it, “Ready to lose?” he asked playfully, a small smirk plaster on his lips.

The Namikaze was thinking of letting him go, but she voted against it, “No, but I’m sure you are,” she grinned at him.

The Uchiha glared and smirked more defined, “No need to deny anything, we both know who will win,” he mocked.

“Yup, me,” she said, jumping back and took a stand.

Itachi shook his head and got ready; this was going to be fun.

-_-

Okay, so he was wrong. He lost, but he still enjoyed it!

The blonde had beaten him all three times they fought. She was good, excellent for a four-year-old, “So what were you saying about losing?” she asked him with a sly grin, Itachi glared at her but said nothing. The soft laugh of Mitsuko filled the clearing with a peaceful atmosphere, “Alright, do you want to come over tomorrow?” she asked, walking over to the house, followed by him.

“If you help me train,” he said.

Mitsuko smiled at Itachi warmly, “Deal!” she exclaimed and called for her mother. “Mom, we’re done!” she said, skipping into the kitchen where they found Kushina cutting some apples.

“Alright, rest a bit, and then we’ll take Itachi-kun home,” she told her daughter.

“Okay!” the blonde said and grabbed the plate of cut apples, “Thanks, Mom,” she leaned over, kissing her on the cheek.

“You’re welcome, Mitsu,’” she said and smiled at Itachi.

The Uchiha blushed a bit, he had never seen such a warm smile from a mother… it made him feel… cared for? Loved? He didn’t know, but it was something like that. The boy gave her a faint smiled and followed the blonde out of the kitchen. She moved to the second floor and into her room, “So, what would you like to train for tomorrow?” she asked, offering some apples.

“I’m not sure, I still have to perfect my fireball, so care to help me with that?” he asked, taking a piece of it and loving it, it had lemon and salt.

The blonde blinked at him, “Sure, but I’m not sure if I’ll be of any help… wind and water are my nature chakra, I’m not sure about fire, but I can try,” she told him.

The boy almost choked at the piece, “Wait, you already know those two?” he asked her.

“I don’t know much, but I’ve mastered the basic chakra exercise for both,” she lied a bit, “and I’ve mastered a few jutsus from both chakras,” she added.

Itachi looked at her wide-eyed, he was just barely getting the hang of fire and wanted to start his water element as soon as possible. Still, for that, he had to at least master the fireball technique. He looked around the room, “I see,” he said and noticed a pair of pointed kunai. “Those kunai look weird,” he murmured. He didn’t expect her to have such good hearing.

“They have to be like that,” she stated. The blonde had been watching every little move Itachi made and had been happy as he started to act more childish. More his age. Mitsuko had noticed that he acted like a kid of 7 instead of 4, it was almost twice his age. The girl hated it, she wanted him to act normal.

“Why?” he asked, looking at her confused.

“Actually, I really don’t know. My dad gave them to me… some of them…” she said and rubbed the back of her neck as he arched a questioning brow, “I might have taken some without permission…” she confessed.

The Uchiha blinked at her, “Did he notice?” 

The blonde grinned, “Oh, he noticed, but he didn’t say anything,” she said and looked at the kunai for a second. Mitsuko walked over to the stand and grabbed one, “Here, take one,” she said, handing him the weapon.

Itachi looked at it wide-eyed, “I can’t have that!” he told her, but the blonde smiled.

“You can give it back after the war is over,” she said softly, “just throw this, and I’ll come,” she told him with a soft, yet slightly sad smile.

Itachi looked at the kunai, and then at the warm and tender eyes of the girl, he sighed and took the sealed weapon, “But I won’t need it,” he mumbled.

“Just carry it with you all times… I’ll be calmer if you do,” she told him and sat on her bed and started to eat more fruit.

The boy looked at her for a second and nodded, “Okay,” he said, looking at the weapon awkwardly.

Mitsuko blinked and sighed, “I’ll give you something to put it in,” she got up and gave him a small leather bag to place on his hip. “There, now you won’t hurt yourself,” she smirked, the boy glared at her. “What? A three-pointed kunai is dangerous, I should know,” she smiled. Itachi looked at her, surprised, “Almost hurt myself,” she admitted with a small blush.

They finished eating the apples and started talking about what they knew, “So can you climb a tree?” she asked him.

“Yes,” he told her while looking at her as if she had gone nuts.

“Without hands?” she asked, grinning.

The Uchiha looked at her, confused, “No…?”

“La-me I can,” she told him proudly.

“How?” he asked,

“I’ll teach you after you get your great fireball down,” she promised, and a second later, Kushina knocked on the door.

“Mitsu, Itachi-kun, are you ready?” she asked, opening the door.

“Yup,” she affirmed while the boy nodded.

They left after Itachi gather his pouch and headed to the Uchiha compound a few streets away from their home. Mitsuko walked happily next to Itachi, who had Kushina by his side, “So you’ll come over tomorrow, Itachi-kun?” the redhead asked gently.

“If it’s not t-” he was saying.

“Of course not!” Kushina said and looked down at him, “You’re always welcome at our house!” she assured, patting his head.

The blonde smiled at her mother, “Plus, the house is always welcoming the presence of a man, in your case a boy,” Mitsuko smirked teasingly.

Itachi glared at her slightly but sighed when she started to laugh, Kushina snorting a bit. The boy began to put his mask on a few streets from his compound, both Uzumakis frowned but said nothing, “I can go from here,” he told them, but both shook their head.

“No, we’ll take you home,” Kushina informed him, and the blonde nodded. Itachi looked at them and smiled a bit before his face became passive.

Mitsuko wanted to yell at his parents for putting him through this. If he couldn’t act like himself in his own home, then what were they teaching him? She calmed down and followed her friend to a regular house, but not the main one, “My parents are in a mission, so I’m staying with my uncle and aunt,” he said as he stopped in front of the house. “Thank you for lunch,” he said and bowed, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mitsuko,” he waved as he opened the door.

“Alright, see you!” the blonde replied cheerfully.

They waited until he closed the door to move, the older Uzumaki looked at her Sun and sighed, “Be nice to him,” she told her and started to walk back home.

“I know,” the girl stated, determined.

…

Later that night, Mitsuko was doing some experiments with the element cards. She was trying to figure out if she had another chakra type besides wind and water. But right now, she was starting to get annoyed. The cards would either split in half or soak up. She was ready to give up on it for now when suddenly the card she had in hand turned into dust.

The blonde got up and rushed to her mother’s room, “Mom! Mom!” she called.

Kushina put the book she was reading down immediately and ran to her daughter, “Mitsuko! What’s wrong?” she exclaimed as the blonde appeared in her room.

“Mom, what are your nature chakras?” she asked earnestly.

The Jinchuuriki sighed and relaxed, “First, don’t scream like that, and I have Water, Wind, and Fire, why?” she asked curiously.

“And Daddy?” she asked.

Kushina looked at her daughter for a minute, “Water, Lightning, Fire, and Earth,” she told her.

Mitsuko blinked, surprised, “So I could have Fire, too?” she inquired, and the redhead nodded, “Hmm,” was her response.

The vessel looked at her daughter, confused, “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just that Itachi’s practicing the great fireball technique, and I was wondering if I might be able to do it,” she replied.

The habanero blinked surprised and then frowned, “And you wanted to see if we could do it?” she asked, and the blonde nodded. “Well, I’m not sure since my affinity is Water and Wind while your father’s Lightning and Water. We worked hard to achieve the others we have,” she told her.

“So I’ll have to work hard to learn a fire technique?” she asked, and her mother nodded. Mitsuko nodded sadly, “Alright,” she said and sighed, “oh well,” she said.

The cerulean orbs of her daughter met her royal ones, “Do we have a Kekkei Genkai?” she asked passively.

Kushina looked at her, surprised, “We might call it that,” she began, the blonde started to listen to her more. “We come from the Uzumaki clan, a clan that is known for the amount of chakra we possess and our long lives… this is a top secrete from anyone outside our clan, but our healing ability is the greatest,” she told her.

The blonde blinked, surprised, “How so?”

“We heal faster, while there are no effects on our skin… that’s why I have no scars on my skin. Burns doesn’t affect us like normal people, our healing ability is so great that we can heal almost anything in our body… except when that wound is on an extremely vital part of our body, like the heart or brain,” she explained.

Mitsuko looked at her wide-eyed. Before, she had always thought that was because of the Biju being inside of her. She hadn’t realized that even now when she did too much, her body recovered like usual.

But that still doesn’t explain why she had three nature chakras so soon, according to Kakashi, only jonin had two or more, and she was just a four-year-old. She might have the experience of a jonin, but she wasn’t at the level of one yet. She looked at her mother’s calm face, “But it’s not a bloodline?” she asked, and the redhead shook her head.

“No… okay, yes, we can say it is… though it’s not classified as one officially, it is one,” she said, sounding a bit confused.

Mitsuko sighed and then grinned, “Alright!” she said and tilted her head to the side.

Kushina looked curiously down at her daughter, “What is it, Mitsu?”

“Can I sleep with you again?” she asked sweetly.

The redhead smiled warmly, “Of course you can, my precious light,” she said gently. Grinning, the blonde cheered and ran to her room for her pajamas –which were a soft blue with white swirls- and came back to the master room where the elder Uzumaki was changing.

Kushina smiled at her as she climbed in bed, soon following her example, and hugged her child close to her. The little girl sighed happily and let her guard down, knowing her mother would protect her from any harm.

Just how had she lived without this warmth before?

…

It had been five days since her first encounter with the Uchiha and her father’s departure. Mitsuko was coping well with her Doton training, while she had already had her Fuuton and Suiton chakras mastered.

She had been practicing day in and day out with the most basic chakra exercise for both elements with her clones to learn them faster. After all, as soon as she had gotten her memories back, she had started her intense training for her Fuuton chakra soon followed by Suiton. Now all she had to do was take a few hours, make some clones, and practice the jutsu she wished to learn until she got it.

With her massive chakra reserve, she could master most jutsus in a week more or less after she had mastered how to summon the chakra necessary for the jutsu. The blonde now was training with Itachi while some clones practice her Doton affinity in another training ground.

She was also starting to get worried. The deadline for her father’s first mission with Kakashi as a jonin was just around the corner, and Obito’s time was running out. The young Uzumaki waited for Itachi to show up at her house while reading basic earth scroll. She had had her clones try out the _Earth Release: Earth Shore Return_ , which amazingly they had master even with the little Doton training she had. So the girl was now interested in _Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique,_ which she will start to train once she’s done reading.

She had about half an hour before Itachi arrived, so she would use her time wisely and tried to memorize the jutsu. Then she'd send a Kage bunshin with enough chakra to make about 500 but would only do 100-150 clones to practice. Half of them would practice more basic earth chakra control, while the other on this technique. If only she had this much control while she had been Naruto, she would have advanced so fast. Mitsuko had mastered all of the Academy’s requirements for graduation. The _normal_ Bunshin and Henge –No, she told herself she wouldn’t do the sexy no jutsu until she really needed it.

The girl sighed and made a clone, they looked at each other, and they sighed, “If you need more clones to master this-” she gave the scroll to the clone “-than do so. I want to learn it as soon as possible,” she ordered, and the clone nodded. She watched as her clone set out to look for an empty training ground.

“Mitsuko! Itachi-kun is here,” her mother called from the first floor.

“Coming!” she said, grabbing her ninja gear and sealing it in a scroll. The blonde then rushed down the stairs and smiled as she saw him. The boy was waiting for her by the entrance, her mom nowhere to be seen. “Hey, Itachi,” she greeted cheerfully.

“Mitsuko,” he murmured, nodding.

“Mom, we’re leaving!” the blonde called over her shoulder as she put her sandals on.

The Jinchuuriki poked her head out of the room she was in and smiled, “Be careful,” she told them.

Soon the two kids were running to the lake near a small park, “So do you think you’ll get the great fireball today? I really need to teach you how to climb trees without hands,” she told him softly.

His obsidian orbs looked at her, and he nodded, “Yeah, I’ll get it today,” he assured her calmly.

Mitsuko nodded, “If you say so,” she smiled and slowed down as the lake came into view. The two children walked down slowly and headed to the wooden bridge by the lake, “You ready?” she asked cheerfully.

Itachi only replied by making the hand seals and inhaling, when he exhaled, a huge fireball was exhaled.

The blonde beamed and cheered at the surprised look on his face, “You did it!” she told him and dragged him away from the lake and into some nearby trees.

After little rest, the Uzumaki started to explain how to concentrate Itachi’s chakra on his feet and run to the tree. To her surprise, he got halfway up on his first try, “Good,” she told him as he landed with a soft thud.

The boy looked at her passively, “Hn,” he said and turned to the tree.

“You might as well use the kunai I gave you to mark your progress,” she commented before he did anything else. Itachi looked at her before taking out a sealed kunai she had given him and ran once more towards the tree. He marked the spot he had reached and landed glaring at the scratch, “Hey, don’t glare!” she told him pointing a finger at him. The boy crooked a brow questioningly, “You’re doing fantastic,” she told him, pouting.

“Well, I don’t see you trying,” he replied while the blonde only smirked.

“That’s because I already know this,” she told him and demonstrated it to him. The young boy could only sigh as she reached one of the upper branches of the tree, “Don’t worry, Itachi, we have all morning for you to get this down!” she said from above.

The boy glared at her and charged at the tree, successfully making it a few feet from his last try. He heard the soft laughter of the blonde, and he relaxed, once he landed on the ground, he looked up at the top of the tree determinately.

Mitsuko watched amazed as the boy ran all the way up to where she was sitting. His fourth try, and he already had it down, “Che, your chakra control is better than mine,” she told him slightly annoyed, though she already knew that, it didn’t mean she had to like it. Itachi smirked at her, “But you still have to do more. Now try doing it with a lower speed!” she ordered, smiling. The Uchiha glared at her but jumped down and start to do it at a semi-normal pace.

The Uzumaki smiled warmly at him, she never thought of getting attached to him so quickly. Itachi was now one of her precious people that she needed to protect, especially from Madara and his clan.

Morning turned into noon, and the boy had already mastered the tree walking exercise. The blonde felt half of the clones disappear, their memories came back to her, she blinked surprised. _‘How the hell did they master_ that _so quickly?’_ she thought as she jumped down to join a slightly panting Uchiha. She bent down slightly and held out her hand, “You did great,” she said softly.

The boy looked at her surprised, but grabbed her soft hand, “Hn,” he said, making her pout. Itachi arched a brow, “What?”

The blonde only shook her head, “You can act your age with me,” she told him and started to move to the lake. Dumbfounded, the young Uchiha could only stare at her back as she walked to the edge of the lake. He shook his head and followed after her, “We’ll practice the water walking exercise next,” she told him over her shoulder.

The blonde-red headed motioned him to come close, “All you have to do is gather your chakra on your feet. Then, you have to continually expel the same amount of chakra to match the weight of your body,” Mitsuko told him and started to walk over the water.

The raven looked at her and nodded; he did what she did and stepped on top of the water, wobbling a bit as he sunk a bit into it. “You have to remember that this is harder because you’re walking on top of water; it’s not solid like a tree,” she told him softly, unwilling to break his concentration. Itachi stopped for a bit to see just how much chakra he needed. Once he was stable, he started to walk, and this time, he stayed flat on the surface. He looked up and saw her beaming proudly, “Good,” she praised and disappeared.

The boy blinked, and the next second he was falling into the lake, when he came out, Itachi glared at the girl, “What was that for?” he growled while trembling.

“That, my friend, is for you to find out,” she grinned slyly. Itachi glared at her and started to swim to the edge. Mitsuko blocked him, “Now, now, who told you to get out of the water by getting out of the lake?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Itachi glared at her and then smirked; he grabbed her foot and pulled her down until she was all the way in. Mitsuko only gasped before the water covered her entire body, she hissed once her head was out of the water, “Cold! What did you do that for!” she asked, splashing some water onto his face.

He glared as he wiped his face from the water, “Why did you trip me?” he demanded.

“So you could do this,” she whined, pulling herself up on top of the water. Itachi observed her hands stayed on top of the water and pulled herself up until her knee touched the water, and she got up on her feet. The blonde looked down at him, “You have to be able to expel the chakra from your body to stay on top of the water at all times,” she informed, squeezing the liquid from her hair.

The boy sighed and started to work on that. Mitsuko walked over to the wooden platform and sat on top of it as she watched Itachi train. She was surprised, though, to have completed the great fireball jutsu, the tree-climbing exercise, and now the water walking training was impressive. Just how much chakra does he possess? She’s sure that he doesn’t have as much as her, but he had quite a bit if he could do all of those things and still be standing. She shook her head, to think he’s only four.

She looked down at her bandaged thigh on her left and sighed; she took out her scroll and tied her ninja gear in place after unsealing them. After this one mission from her father, she will ask him to train her on Fuinjutsu.

She blinked, surprised, and looked at Itachi. Time seemed to stop for her, she couldn’t think she could only move.

One second, Itachi was on top of the water while the next he was tackled by his friend into the cold water. He blinked underwater and wonder why they weren’t coming out just yet. He froze when he saw the kunai sinking into the water where he had been standing a few seconds ago.

**OMAKE! Mitsuko’s second and third attempt for the Hiraishin no Jutsu**

Mitsuko had chosen training ground number 7 for her next _Hiraishin_ practice. She had placed the kunai on the clearing where she had first attacked Kakashi on her genin test.

The blonde took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she was about 20 yards away from the kunai now, and she didn’t want any mistakes done. The blonde concentrated on that spot of the seal’s aura, and the next thing she knew, she was on by the kunai.

When she opened her eyes, she did not expect to be 10 yards in the air, on top of the kunai, and slowly falling down.

She yelled as she moved her arms like a desperate chick to try and soften the land, but it was useless. She fell flat on her back, the girl groaned in pain and glared at the kunai, “I hate you,” she hissed, rubbing her abused back. The girl then got up and grabbed the weapon and left for home, she would practice when her back stopped hurting so much.

\---

The next time she came to the grounds, she had had intense speed training for this. The Uzumaki was proud to say that she was almost as fast as her Lee used to be when he had the second gate opened! She threw the kunai near the small lake and sighed.

Mitsuko cleared her mind, concentrated on the weapon, tried to imagine where she would land, and sped away. This time, she almost got it!

At least if running past it and tripping on your own feet while falling into the lake count as almost making it… at least she appeared by the kunai.

When she popped her head from the water, she growled, “Why can’t I get it!” she whined, coming on top of the water and walking over to the ground. She frowned and sighed, she’ll ask her father to show her how he does it next time he’s free.

The girl sighed and went home depressed… oh, she hoped she got it next time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the Kudos!


	5. 4: Trauma part 2

_**"I'll end this war myself, I'll endure all the hatred and pain on my own! That is my role!"** _

_**~Uzumaki Naruto, chapter 535** _

Kushina waited for the kids to come home for lunch; she was glad that her light wasn’t running around alone anymore but was worried for the children. It was wartime, and no one knew when the enemy would attack or when they would try to infiltrate the village for silent assassinations.

The mother sighed and started to make some tea to calm the uneasiness she was feeling since Mitsuko and Itachi left to do who knows what training. It’s not that she wasn’t glad she was, but she also disliked that her daughter was growing up so fast.

In the beginning, she was all but an average toddler, but as soon as Mitsuko turned three, something changed in her. The baby blue eyes of her took a hint of wisdom that Kushina could not understand. They held knowledge, and that scared her for some reason. Both Kushina and Minato were concerned for her, but she acted like always, yet… more matured.

Her focus moved to the hot tea, she poured it into a cup, but just before she grabbed it to take a sip, the clay cracked a bit. The redhead stopped and cursed; she ran up to her room to get her weapons in a flash.

Damn it!

Damn it all, she should have asked them where they were. She should have sought out that they were safe where they were; she should have not let them out of her sight. Once she had her things, Kushina ran as fast as she could to the lake, if she remembered correctly, they should be there.

.-.

“Is that brat it?” a man asked, another looked at him and nodded, “It seems so, it’s the Uchiha brat,” he said.

“Hmm, but why do we need so many?” another man asked.

“He’s the Uchiha heir; of course we’ll need people. We need to get out of here as fast as we can,” the leader of the group said sternly.

“What about that girl?” the second in command asked.

“Kill her, she’s probably useless,” he told him as he threw a kunai at the boy walking on water.

The team gasped as the boy was tackled into the water by someone, “Are you sure we should kill her?” a female asked. “She just saved him,” she told them, gazing at the kids.

The leader looked at her, “Che, we’ll take her, too. She might be important to someone if she has such good reflexes,” he told them, and they spread out.

-

Mitsuko looked up and noticed about ten shadows on top of the water. She looked at the surprised Uchiha and cursed; closing her eyes, she dispelled the clones and gained their memories. She smirked and moved up, she was sure Itachi couldn’t hold his breath any longer.

The girl breathed in the needed air and held a coughing Uchiha close to her, “Come with us,” a man told them, she noticed his Iwa headband and damned today’s luck. That’s _just_ what she needed, some ninja trying to get them.

“Why should we?” she asked, coming out of the water and helped Itachi do the same.

“Listen, kid, if you don’t want to die, then you better come with us,” the female told them.

The Uzumaki looked at Itachi, he was glaring, but she could tell he was a bit too low on chakra. Her gaze returned to the enemy, “Why do you want us?” she asked.

“We don’t want you, we want the Uchiha. Hand him over unless you want to die, twerp,” a man said, pulling a kunai from his container on his thigh.

Itachi looked at her with hidden fear, “Maa-aah” she said tiredly, “Why do you think you can kill me?” she smirked at them. Itachi looked at her wide-eyed, he knew she knew some tricks, but he was positive she couldn’t go against ten chunin level ninja! It was suicide for a kid their age.

“Mitsuko,” he whispered lowly.

“Don’t worry,” Mitsuko assured Itachi and move her hands to a familiar hand sign, “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” she called out. Twenty copies of herself popped into the water. The others were stunned by this and gave her the chance to get a hold of Itachi. Jumping high into the air as her clones did a series of hand signs while circling the enemy, “Water Prison Technique!” they called out. All of them were trapped into balls of water.

Itachi looked at her, shocked as they landed safety on the wood platform. Mitsuko cursed as half of the ninja turned into something that they replaced before being caught. The free ninja threw some shurikens at her clones to dispel them. The blonde glared and waited for the others to make the first move.

The young boy gasped as a kunai was thrown at her, but she only moved enough to scratch her, “If you think you can scare me with your numbers and ranks you have, then you’re mistaken…” she said and grabbed Itachi as they ran to them. They puffed near the tree they had been; she grabbed the forgotten three-blade kunai and glared at the enemy, “Stay here and don’t move; I’ll take care of them,” she told him handing him the weapon.

She noticed his shaking hands and smiled at him, “Don’t worry, they’re nothing compare to others I know. I’ll be fine!” she guaranteed with a warm smile and disappeared. The Uchiha noticed that she was once again by the water and making more clones.

“Who the hell is this kid?” one of the ninjas yelled, popping a clone that had stabbed a kunai on his shoulder.

“Kill her! We need to get passed her to get to the boy and leave before Konoha ninjas come here!” said the leader of the team.

Mitsuko glared, “Water Release: Violent Water Wave!” she called out before she spat a wave of water from her mouth and wounded the enemy. Some of her clones were disappearing quickly, and she cursed.

“Damn it! Get past her and get the kid!” someone said.

The blonde sighed, “Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death…” she called out and frown when some of the needles immobilized their target instantly. Three bodies fell limped in the water, slowly sinking; she made some clones and grabbed them. They puffed next to Itachi and started to tie the fallen Iwa-nin, but they stayed there guarding the bodies. She let her guard down as she watched them work.

“MITSUKO!” she heard Itachi scream.

The girl turned in time to see a kunai with an explosive tag flying her way. Mitsuko threw a shuriken while stopping her chakra flow on her feet, being enveloped by the water just as the tag exploded. She heard Itachi’s yell but let the others think that they had gotten her yet didn’t dispel her clones; instead, she made four more underwater.

Itachi could only watch as his friend was trapped by the attack of the explosion. He screamed and ran to her side as fast as he could, but he just wasn’t fast enough. An odd sensation passed through his eyes, and he was able to see better, but he didn’t care; all he wanted was to see if his friend was safe.

A body blocked his path, he stopped and glared at the ninja who had thrown the weapon, “My, they had told us that you didn’t care for anyone, why the sudden change of heart?” the man said extending a wire. Itachi didn’t say anything, he only held the sealed Kunai tightly.

Itachi tried to jump when the man went to wrap him with the wire, but someone had a hold of his feet. He held the kunai in the air and tried to cut the wire, but it only slipped on the blade. He gasped as his blonde friend appeared in front of him and cut the wire effortlessly; she had trenched knives on each of her hands, “Only five more to go,” she stated. All of the others looked down and saw blood tainting the water. They then heard a puff sound by the tree, and more clones were tying unconscious teammates.

The Uchiha looked at his friend wide-eyed as he slipped from the wire. Mitsuko looked at the five remaining Iwa kidnapers and narrowed her eyes, “Che, Aki, get rid of this brat,” the leader said, and the only woman nodded.

The next thing Itachi saw, rather heard, was metal and metal clash into each other, “If you think you can beat me, you’re wrong,” his friend said, holding her own against a katana. Mitsuko closed her eyes as she concentrated her flow of chakra into her weapons. Snapping intense blue eyes open, she pushed the katana upwards while suddenly slicing the blade from it into two with her left knife. At the same time, the right moved in front of her torso, going upwards.

The woman jumped back surprised, “You missed,” she said smirking, the girl looked up sadly, Itachi could tell.

“Did I?” she asked passively. All of them looked at her puzzled when blood broke free from the wound her wind blade had made, “I don’t miss,” she stated calmly as the woman fell backward. Two of her clones pulled her underwater and carried her to the shore and did their task.

“The girl has Wind and Water elements!” one of the four said shocked.

“Only a jonin level can do that,” another said.

“Itachi get down,” she told him, and he did, four shurikens flew to the others; they pierced right through their target and immobilizing them as they had Wind chakra in them… expect for one. The clones moved to do their job once again.

“I can’t believe a mere child like you have defeated my team,” the leader said a few yards away.

“You should learn to not underestimate your enemy,” she said, smiling. Itachi couldn’t believe her power. “Run Itachi, I’ll hold him off,” she told him in a voice he never heard before. It was an order, her voice let no place to argue, so he left. He hated it, hated it so much.

Run.

Pathetic, why was he weak? Why couldn’t he help? Just what has he been doing?

He’s the heir of the Uchiha clan for gods’ sake!

He shouldn’t be running away, letting a non-clan girl defend him.

He stopped just as he once again faced the man; by now, they were by the park. Where was Mitsuko? He wondered as the man stood calmly in front of him, “Now be a good boy and come with me,” he said irritated.

“What happen to Mitsuko?” he asked, taking a step back.

“What do you think?” came the answer from behind. Itachi quickly spun around with the kunai high in the air and hit the man in the gut. The man turned to dust while a sickening laugh sounded from behind, “Think you can take me on?” he asked, running to him.

Itachi was paralyzed, his eyes widened, and blood ran down a mouth. “I told you to run,” Mitsuko said softly, grinning lightly as she stood between the kunai and him.

Kushina entered at this scene. She saw her daughter blocking a deadly wound from Itachi, her blood froze, and anger started to pump her veins. The power of Kyuubi wanted to be set free, but she held on to her sanity. She desired to kill that bastard herself!

The Uchiha trembled slightly, “Che, got rid of my clone, huh?” the ninja asked.

“As you have mine,” she said before popping away. The three blinked surprised and gasped as a small wave of air came next to Itachi, and kicked the man on the chin. He was sent flying but not before he threw five Kunais and five shurikens at them.

Kushina screamed, “Mitsuko, Itachi!” she said, running as fast as she could, but she was too far away.

Mitsuko quickly did a few hands signs and slammed her hands on the ground, “Earth Release: Earth Shore Return,” she mumbled as a wall of earth shot from the ground and blocked the weapons. She made two clones, each holding the end of a wire, and they moved out.

The redhead watched as her light acted like a ninja, a chunin, or higher if possible. The Mitsuko clones managed to trap him, while the real one brought down the wall and stood up calmly. “You okay?” she asked Itachi, not taking her passive eyes from the ninja.

“…Yeah…” Itachi said breathlessly.

At this, she looked at him and gasped, “Your… Sharingan,” she choked out. Itachi blinked and saw as her face sadden drastically, “I’m sorry…” she said, knowing he won’t be able to ever forget this attack. Kushina was now behind the man and knocked him out, she then ran to them and knelt down while bringing both kids to her arms.

“I’m so glad both of you are okay,” she whispered. The blonde smiled while Itachi stood there, frozen by the warmth provided by the redhead. When she pulled away, she looked at Mitsuko seriously, “What happened?” she asked.

The blonde blinked and sighed, “Shouldn’t we call some ninja to take him in?” she asked, and just then, an ANBU along with Yamanaka Inoichi landed on the ground.

“Kushina-san,” the blond greeted.

“Inoichi,” she said. The man motioned the ANBU to get the Iwa ninja, “How did he get in?” Kushina asked.

“We don’t know, but there were more with him,” he said, noticing the starch on the blondes' left shoulder, “What happen to you?” he asked softly.

The redhead looked at her arm and gasped, “Mitsuko!” she said, taking a better look at the wound while Itachi frowned deeply.

“… Um,” Mitsuko mumbled and sighed. She looked at Itachi, and she groaned, “Follow me,” she told them, Inoichi motion the ANBU to get the man to the Intelligence Division. Mitsuko walked over to her… er… combat field and didn’t look at the adults when they gasped. Nine Iwa ninja were tied to some trees, some bleeding but in no danger of dying from them. She looked at Itachi and cursed as he still had his Sharingan activated while he gazed wide-eyed at the aftermath of the fight.

Great, this whole incident will be forever engraved on his mind. Itachi looked at her and his red eyes with one Tomoe and vanished, leaving the black orbs she had grown used to. “M-Mitsuko,” her mother whispered, the girl looked up and whined at the shocked faces of the two jonin.

“Yeah?” she asked, half-innocently half-seriously.

“What happened here?” her mother asked, looking down at her.

“…A fight,” Mitsuko said as calmly as she could.

Inoichi looked down at her, “Who fought?” he asked, the blonde looked at the unconscious shinobi, the lake, and cursed for all the blood that was there, it wasn’t enough to taint the whole lake, but some spots yes.

“Ten Iwa ninja,” she said, looking back at them.

“Against who?” he asked, and the blonde knew she couldn’t lie.

“…Me?” Mitsuko questioned hesitantly.

Two sets of blue orbs widen, one deeper than the other, “You?” he asked while Kushina gapped like a fish.

“Yes,” she said, now entirely sure she was in trouble. The elder Uzumaki looked down at her.

“How could you fight them?” she asked, and the girl sighed.

“Mom… I’m not a weak four-year-old that will be killed by a chunin… or ten of them,” she said, looking down at the ground.

“But how did you get so strong? You’re only four!” she said, and the blonde sighed.

‘Well, technically I’m 16 with Sage training, nature chakra training, was able to defeat Kyuubi and a whole lot of chakra to spare…’ yeah right, she couldn’t say that!

“I…” she couldn’t say it, she can’t. If she wanted them to know, she would’ve told her parents the minute she remembered everything about her future and warned them about Madara! But she knew that the least they know about the future, the more she can change it.

Pained cerulean orbs looked at them; both adults froze and felt like they were doing the worst thing possible to a child. Those pure orbs begged them to stop the questions and let it go, to forget about everything that just happened. They sighed, defeated, “D-don’t worry Mitsuko,” Kushina said lightly, the man nodded. He would find out later after all, but first, he needed a team to bring the injured ninja to Headquarters.

Itachi hadn’t said anything, but he felt like he shouldn’t. Like he needed to forget, but he just couldn’t. He promised himself that he would be stronger, powerful enough to bring peace into this world and… and protect her.

The image of his friend still lived on his mind, the way she appeared and got stabbed in his place, blood spilling from her rosy lips. His hand moved on his own, he grabbed her hand, and as her eyes met his, he vowed to protect her even if it cost him his life. He pulled her close to him and hugged her.

The blonde blinked confused, she didn’t know what was going on, but as he held her gently, her heart skipped a beat. She blushed, “I-Itachi?” she asked, stunned. Kushina and Inoichi looked at them curiously; a giggled escaped Kushina’s lips as she watched her embarrassed daughter freeze at Itachi’s sudden hug.

Kushina watched as his eyes were filled with determination to protect someone important, she smiled softly. It only took Mitsuko five days to get his love, now she was in for it. Oh well, she could only predict what Minato would say when she told him he had a rival for his baby’s affection.

Itachi finally released a confused blonde and smiled at her, “Let’s eat,” he said, and just then, her stomach growled.

The blonde blinked and blushed sheepishly, “Yeah,” she said. Kushina watched as the blond left to do his job, and she called them.

“Mitsu, Itachi-kun… let’s go,” she said, and both nodded.

-x- **scenes from the manga! You have been warned!**

Minato ordered his team to meet by the border between Konoha and Grass. He had already sent the report to the Hokage and received his commands along with interesting info. Kakashi and Rin were already there with him, the only one missing was Obito.

The blond looked up at the sky, he had this weird feeling that he had gotten two days ago, but today’s feeling was greater. He turned around as the boy approached, but he tripped and landed on the ground. Soon Kakashi was over him, “I made it in time, right?” he asked nervously.

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest, “You wish you were, Obito, you’re late!” he said scolding. “You idiot! Do you not know at what time we were meeting?” Kakashi questioned, placing his hands on his hips, “If you’re a fully-fledged ninja, you should naturally follow the rules and regulations strictly!”

Obito rubbed the back of his head. “But… as I came here, I had to show the way to an old woman carrying luggage…” he said, looking from Rin to him, “… plus, there was something in my eye,” he said, pulling his goggles from his eyes and sitting crossed leg.

“ _What_? That’s a lie!” Kakashi hissed.

“Hey! Don’t talk like that, Kakashi!” Minato intervened quickly. “You went with the old lady, didn’t you… Obito?”

“I helped her with her stuff, too!” he said, preparing his eye drops.

“…You’re a real pushover,” the silver head told his sensei sarcastically. “You should be getting angry at Obito. Every freaking time…” he growled. “Those Ninja that don’t follow the rules and regulations are called trash! That’s how it is!” he said glaring, Minato could only laugh nervously.

Obito looked at Kakashi, rubbing his eye, “Do you have no soul? It’s always about the rules and regulations with you, just shut up!” he told him, “The key point is your own self-control!”

Kakashi and Minato stared at him, blankly, “Hey, hey. Can you please stop?” Rin asked, placing her hands on the air, “You guys are teammates, are you not?” she asked with a weak smile.

“Rin, you’re too easy-going towards Obito… this is an important day for me,” he said, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

“Yeah… yeah, it is,” Rin agreed, smiling nervously.

“What was it again?” Obito asked, confused.

Minato got up from his spot on the rock and started to move, “Well, today, Kakashi is promoted to a Jonin, just like me!” he told him. “To make this mission easier, myself and his team will be split since the military power of Konoha has hit an all-time low now,” he said.

Obito looked at him with a bit of confusion, “Split… then…” he mumbled.

“Yup! Kakashi will become the commander of your three-man team… and I’ll be on my own,” he said from over his shoulder.

Rin looked at the Uchiha, “I told you about it before Obito. To give Kakashi a present,” she told him.

The boy looked away, “Sorry, I wasn’t listening,” he whispered while Kakashi looked at him from the corner of his eye.

Minato stopped and brought out a Kunai, “I’ll give you this,” he said, grinning. “It’s a special Kunai,” he held it with his index finger by the hole. “It’s a little heavy because of its odd shape, but it is rather easy to use,” he told him proudly. “Take it with you on today’s mission,” he said, handing him the kunai.

“Thanks,” Kakashi mumbled.

Rin walked over to him with her hands up, holding something between them, “This is from me! Here!” she said, giving him a small bag, “A personal, special medical bag. You’ve improves so much that it should be easy to use!” she cheered while Obito watched from the sidelines.

“Thanks,” the teen said.

Kakashi turned to Obito and extended his hand, “W-What’s with the hand?” he asked, “I didn’t do anything for you! Absolutely nothing!” he said, glaring.

“That’s fine, make you’re self useful… carry my stuff,” Kakashi said, dropping his hand.

Obito’s brow twitched, “HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU BECOME A JONIN WITH THAT ATTITUDE!” he yelled pointing a finger at him.

“I rather not talk about it,” he replied calmly.

Obito dropped his arm and looked down; he shook a bit, “I am Uchiha Obito of the Uchiha Clan! I will surpass you!” he told him, “As soon as I awaken this Sharingan of mine,” he stated.

Kakashi looked blankly at him, “The Uchiha are all elite Ninja, aren’t they?” the jonin asked, “That’s what I thought, but…” Kakashi said.

“What!” Obito asked, glaring.

Rin raised her hands, “Guys, quit it!” she said softly.

Minato narrowed his eyes, “Hey… can I explain the mission now? We’re almost at the country border,” he said sternly. All of the teens shut up and looked at him.

The Namikaze unfolded a map and set it on the ground. He explained the lines and pointed at a small square, “Our current mission is here,” Minato said as the three teens looked down. “We’d need a lot of ninjas to hit the enemy’s front line,” he tapped the picture, “Because of that, a few selected ninjas must go and sabotage them,” he said.

Kakashi looked up, “The bridge… so it’s a sneak mission?” he asked.

Minato looked sternly at the team, “Yes… Team Kakashi, your mission is: sneak in behind the enemy and destroy the Kannabi Bridge that they need to receive supplies. Then withdraw as quickly as possible,” he ordered.

“Okay!” they replied.

Obito looked at his teacher, “What about you?” he asked.

“I will engage the frontline directly to divert them away from you,” he told them, picking up the map.

Soon, they were on the move once more. Kakashi was the first to enter the forest, followed by Obito, Rin, and Minato.

A few minutes later, Kakashi stopped and motioned them to do the same. Both teens blink surprised, yet Minato observed what he’d do next.

An Iwa nin stood hidden by a tree. He looked over the four Konaka ninjas and noticed Minato; he recognized him but wasn’t sure if it’s really _him._

Meanwhile, Minato placed a finger on the ground to determine if he’s alone or not. Once sure he wasn’t, he looked at the group, “Be careful everyone, there are 20 enemies; maybe it’s a kage busnshin no jutsu,” he informed. Eyes shifting to the forest again.

“It looks like it,” Kakashi said, “Sensei, I’ll head in, please cover me,” he said, making Minato turned to him, while the other two looked nervous.

Minato looked at the forest once more, “Don’t be hasty Kakashi, you should be the backup,” he said.

Kakashi shook his head and started to concentrate his chakra on the palm of his hand, “Sensei, I’m the commander today, right? This is an excellent time to try muy new jutsu,” he stated while the noise of a hundred birds singing came from his hand.

Minato looked at him with calculating eyes, while Obito and Rin looked awed by the jutsu. “Stay here!” he ordered.

**Omake ~** **Not a month ago…**

Minato looked at the sleeping woman and the small figure in her arms. A soft smile reached his lips; the sight of his wife and newborn daughter was breathtaking. The moon’s light crept into the room, washing over Kushina’s beautiful pale face, tired but beautiful. Mitsuko, his precious Mitsuko, and lovely tan skin, just like his. The light made it shine, looking softer than it already was.

The blond admired the perfect picture he had in front of him. Not a month ago had his hot-tempered wife been pregnant with the little light he was looking at. Not a month ago, he’d been thinking about the gender the baby would be, how would they look. Not a month ago had his Kushina asked him for a mint and strawberry ice cream at three in the morning. He smiled; the cute face of his newborn was soon filled with wrinkles distress, the lower lip trembling, and bright blue eyes slid open.

Minato sighed and got up from the chair he had been gazing from; he walked up to the bed and reached for his light. Kushina’s arm instantly tightened around her, but he whispered to her that it was okay. The redhead sighed in her sleep and let go. He candled her in his no longer awkward arms and cooed softly. He walked a bit around the room before she could cry before she’d fully awaken.

The little baby whimpered and stretched her small fisted arms. The man made a face, sure enough, the flatus sound came, and he hung his head. Not a month had he wished he could leave all diaper changes to his lovely wife. He sighed and walked to a corner of the room where the wet baby towels and dippers were. Minato set his daughter down on the little bed and started his not so pleasant activity with his daughter.

Even so, not a month ago had he been wondering what being a father would feel like. Now here he was, understanding the deep emotions a father experienced, all after one month.

Crud, he hated changing diapers.


	6. 5: First Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will Mitsuko do? Save Obito or let him die?

Minato placed a hand across Kakashi, stopping him from doing anything. Kakashi didn’t say anything for a few seconds. He just looked straight ahead, “It doesn’t matter if there are a lot of enemies, this will get them all,” he began, the blond looked at his student. “It’s just as fast as you, and I’m the leader,” he stated.

Minato looked at him passively, “Follow the commander’s instructions is a rule, right Sensei?” he asked, preparing for his jutsu. The blond sighed and moved his hand away; in a swift movement, Kakashi was running while his jutsu took down everything in its path. Obito and Rin both had to cover themselves to protect their faces from the rubble left by the technique.

Kakashi charged straight ahead, ignoring the kunai being thrown at him and letting Minato do the blocking job. The silver head was confident now that the weapons made the enemy give their location away.

Minato threw a shuriken at the enemy, making him come out from hiding. At the same time, Kakashi burst through one of the mushrooms and appear next to the Iwa nin. The man was surprised by the speed of the boy. Kakashi prepared his hand to pierce the chest of the enemy, but as he did, the man puffed away.

 _'Kage binshin!’_ he realized too late. The boy moved to the next one.

Obito watched his teammate, but a weird sound came from his left. It was the enemy. He froze with fear, he had let down his guard… the clone disappeared as Minato sliced him clean, “Pay attention!” he told the boy.

“Y-yes,” the Uchiha mumbled with tears in his eyes.

Kakashi was still running for his victim, the man held his long katana ready to cut the boy in half. The future Yondaime prepared to move out; in a puff of smoke, he appeared upside down, one hand on the ground and the other around Kakashi’s waist. The swing from the blade missed by a hair, scratching the teen's shoulder just a bit in the process. The ninja jumped into hiding while Minato reappeared by the other teens calmly. He got up and took off his backpack, and he was gone.

Once the bag hit the ground, the enemy already had a kunai by the neck while Minato stood calmly behind. The three teens blinked, and they missed his movement.

The man trembled in fear, “I-it c-can’t… be… you’re the… ‘Yellow Flash,’” he whispered frightened. Minato said nothing, “Iwa, we were warned by our commanders to escape if we saw that person…” he choked out, “…now I know what they meant…” he gasped, the blond ended his job in a second.

Rin was healing Kakashi’s wound as he appeared once more, “Sensei,” Rin said.

“Kakashi’s injury isn’t minor… for now, we’ll retreat back to camp,” Minato told them.

“I’m fine!” Kakashi stated stubbornly.

“What do you mean ‘fine?’” Obito demanded, “You selfishly went your own way against sensei’s orders and did something stupid!” he yelled.

The new jonin looked at him coldly, “I don’t want to hear anything from the ‘Elite Uchiha,’ a coward and a crybaby!” he hissed.

Obito flinched, “That… there was something in my eye! Tears helped it get it out,” he defended himself.

“Remember shinobi rule number 25?” he asked, “‘A shinobi must never show his tears,’ remember it,” he hissed.

Rin looked between them, “H-hey, stop!” she said weakly.

“Calm down!” the Namikaze ordered. All three looked up surprised, Minato looked at them seriously, “Kakashi, rules, and regulations are important, but that’s not all there is. You have to be able to adapt and cope with the situation,” he said passively, the teen looked down thinking.

“Ha! See!” Obito exclaimed victoriously, and the Yellow Flash narrowed his eyes.

“Obito! You’re wearing goggles; you shouldn’t have had anything in your eye. If you don’t control your mouth, both your body and your mind will also become weak,” he told the now depressed raven. Minato looked at the silver head once more, “And Kakashi, that jutsu you used… you shouldn’t use it again,” he said calmly. The teen looked at his sensei, surprised, “Power that is concentrated in one point. You have destructive power and speed, but because your movements are so fast, you can’t see the opponent’s counterattack. Because of that, it’s an incomplete jutsu,” he stated, crushing the boy’s view of his technique.

The three teens looked at him silently, all thinking about different things. The man sighed, “Before we separate, I’ll say this once more, _the most important thing to a shinobi is **teamwork,**_ ” he stated. All of them almost gapped at him but looked down thoughtful. “Now, let’s move out!” he commanded.

Night fell on them as they made camp. The blond jonin was the first to guard, “Sensei,” the low voice of Obito called as he climbed the boulder where the blond was resting. Minato looked behind his shoulder.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” he asked softly. The boy came and sat next to him with a grim face, the Namikaze waited patiently for him to speak.

“I know teamwork is important, but… but Kakashi’s always making me the lazy idiot,” he whispered. The blonde watched his student struggle, “Ah… no. Though I’m called ‘elite’ because I was born into the Uchiha clan… truth is, I’m a loser,” he confessed, clenching his hands into fists. “I acknowledge that Kakashi’s an amazing person, but…” he trailed off.

Minato smiled lightly and looked at the stars.

“Hmm,” Minato mumbled. “Kakashi is the son of the genius ninja Hatake Sakumo, also known as ‘Konaha’s white fang,’ his father had respect on the same level as the ‘legendary Sannin.’ Because he spent his childhood with such a genius, sometimes, he may look at you guys and see you as unsatisfactory,” he said passively.

“White fang? Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ve heard of him too. A hero who died for the village… K-Kakashi never said a word about him,” Obito said surprised, and a bit curious, Minato looked at him for a bit, then down at the grass.

Obito observed him make his decision, “Everyone in the village, and of course, Kakashi, respected that magnificent person,” he stated. The Uchiha didn’t take his eyes off of him, “That is until that incident happened,” he said after a minute.

“…Incident?” Obito asked, confused.

“I’m probably not supposed to talk about this freely, but since you’re on the same team as Kakashi, I want you to know,” he told the boy as he looked at him with a passive expression.

The Uchiha started to sweat a bit for how nervous he felt, “W-what happened?” he asked softly as if he was about to discover a great secret that no one else was to know.

“Kakashi's father, Sakumo, was disgraced… and he committed suicide,” he informed.

“Eh?” was the reply from the boy.

Minato closed his eyes, “Five years ago, he was on a top-secret mission, sneaking into enemy’s lands. He had to make a choice: the success of the mission or his companions’ lives,” he said, making Obito’s eyes widened.

“If he followed the village rules, he couldn’t go back on his mission, but he abandoned the mission to save the lives of his companions. Because of that, the Fire Country suffered a great loss, and everyone in the village blamed him, even his companions. In the end, he was even disgraced by the comrades he had saved,” Minato told him, opening his eyes and looking up at the sky once more. “Because of that mission, his mind and body became weak. Sakumo then took his own life … after that, Kakashi never spoke of his father, and he began his insistence to follow the rules and regulations.”

Obito looked down frowning, the blond only watched as he tried to make some kind of decision.

“Obito, try to understand him. Don’t bear a grudge towards him,” he said softly.

…

When they enter a bamboo forest, Minato began to tell them good-bye, “From here we split into two groups. Everyone do your best!” he said, and his face became serious. “It was only a chance that the enemy from yesterday was scouting alone. From now own, it will be team battles… take care,” he told them.

The three teens nodded gravely, “Let’s get going… commander,” Obito said firmly, surprising everyone.

Kakashi stared at him wide-eyed while Obito blushed a bit, Rin stared speechlessly, and Minato smiled warmly. He closed his eyes and grinned, “Right, let’s go!” he cheered.

“Okay!” they said in at the same time.

“Scatter!” Minato said, jumping off to his destination while the others did the same.

After a few hours of running and resting, they came upon a small lake. They walked on top of it but didn’t notice the two Iwa ninja hiding in the shadows, “Oii, Mahiru still hasn’t returned from scouting,” a man with puffy and wild black hair said. “He couldn’t have been beaten by those brats,” he wondered.

The other man, he had a big nose said, “I’ll go asked them.”

Kakashi walked carefully, trying to extend his senses as wide as he could. With a sniff from the air, he motioned the other two to stop. Obito and Rin stopped surprised as a set of sharp bamboo sticks came down on them with great speed. Obito narrowed his eyes and made a few hand signs. “Fire Release: Great Fireball!” he breathed out a massive fireball. It burnt the sticks and stopped their attack successfully.

The raven hair enemy jumped into view with two blades on each wrist. Kakashi took out a kunai and repealed the strike from the man and attacked at the same time. They counter each other at least five times before the jonin, and Uchiha noticed the other Iwa enemy.

Kakashi landed on the water, just behind Obito. In contrast, the Iwa nin landed behind the big man who was carrying an unconscious Rin. “We’ll take this one,” the big nose said; Obito glared while getting ready to charge, but they puffed away.

“Wait!” Kakashi called, but they were gone.

The Hatake narrowed his eyes. Obito started to run after them. “Damn it,” he said but was stopped by Kakashi’s cold voice.

“Obito! Don’t go after them,” he ordered.

The Uchiha looked at him with anger, “What?” he asked.

He jumped over to the scarecrow, mad, “What? What the hell are you saying? Do you even get it?” he exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Kakashi murmured. “The two of us will resume this mission,” he stated passively.

Obito blinked and then glared at him, “Rin! What about Rin?” he questioned.

“Leave Rin, for now, the enemy wants to know our aim, they won’t kill her yet,” he told the pissed boy. “Besides, Rin is a medical ninja. Even as a prisoner, she should be treated well, as long as she looks after the enemy’s casualties,” he stated.

Obito was starting to lose his cool.

“More importantly, the issue is the enemy discovering our aim. If they find out, they’ll go straight to prepare the bridge for an attack. If that happens, the mission will become too difficult,” he said, and that was it, the Uchiha exploded.

He raised both his arms aggressively, “What you’re saying doesn’t include Rin’s **safety**! If those guys were just unthinking flunkies, what would happen then!” he asked irritated. “More importantly than the mission, we have to rescue Rin!” Obito exclaimed.

Kakashi looked coldly at the boy, “As a shinobi, sometimes it’s essential to sacrifice your comrades for the accomplishment of the mission; that’s the ‘law.’ If the mission fails, the war will continue, and many more sacrifices may occur,” he stated calmly.

The raven growled, “That’s just speculation! Just for that, you would simply throw away a companion who’s been with you through thick and thin?” he questioned, almost yelling. “When you and I were injured, she saved our lives with her medical jutsu! If she hadn’t been there, we’d been long dead!” he finished with angry pants.

Kakashi looked at him, apathetic, “…That was Rin’s duty,” he replied calmly.

In an instant, Kakashi was on the ground after a powerful hit on his left cheek. Yet, he said nothing as Obito’s figure stood furiously over him, “I definitely can’t stand you!” the boy screamed at him.

Kakashi’s eyes narrowed, “Whether you hate me or not, I’m still your commander,” he stated passively. “You _must_ obey my instructions,” he told him. “No matter what happens, if the team is scattered, there is only one leader,” he said, trying to get up. “Therefore, you must follow the instructions of the commander.” He rubbed his cheek, “… Obito, you haven’t gotten any strength. Because of that, I’m this team’s leader,” he clarified.

Obito grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, “If that’s the case, why do you refuse to help Rin?” he asked. “Only you have the strength to save your comrades!” he told the jonin.

“If you let your emotions run free and fail your mission, you’ll regret it in the future,” he said, glaring at the raven. “Because of that, the rule was decided that a shinobi must kill his emotions. You must understand that, too,” he said.

Obito looked down, shutting his eyes close, when he opened them he looked directly at the boy, “Rin… Rin gave you a medical pack out of concern for you! And she sewed a charm into it!” the Uchiha hissed.

“The medical pack and the medical jutsu were to increase the success rate of the mission. That is a brilliant system devise by Konoha!” the silver head replied, starting to get pissed.

“But yesterday, didn’t I said, ‘If you receive unnecessary things, they just become excessive luggage?’” he asked as Obito clenched his teeth.

The scarecrow looked at him for a bit, “The most important thing to a shinobi is to be a tool to complete the mission. **Emotions are unnecessary things**!” he said, utterly sure of himself.

The Uchiha dropped his hand in shock, “Are you serious…?” he asked in disbelief.

Kakashi only stared at him blankly.

The tan teen scowled at the ‘leader,’ “Do you seriously think like that!” he asked, stunned.

The Hatake said nothing but looked away. The image of his father flashed through his mind; he looked at the lower-left sadly, then looked up and waited a second before replying, “Yes… that’s right!” he stated with determination.

Obito glared at him, but his flame had died down, “Fine then, since the beginning you and I were like water and oil, I’m going to rescue Rin,” he informed. He then turned around without care what the other thought.

Kakashi looked at him, calmly, “You don’t understand anything! What happens to those who don’t follow the rules-” be was cut off by something shocking.

“I believe that the ‘White Fang’ is a true hero!” he stated with something in his voice that shook Kakashi’s every core and stared at the Uchiha’s back dumbly. “Of course, those in the world of ninja who break the rules and regulations are called trash, but…” Kakashi furrowed his brows with confusion and a bit of a shock. “ _Those who don’t care about their companions are even **worse** than trash!”_ Obito said, looking at him over his shoulders.

The obsidian orbs held a fire much different than the sliver head had ever seen; it somehow… demanded respect and acknowledgment.

“Anyway, if I’m that kind of thrash, I’ll break the rules! If that’s not being a true shinobi…” he turned around and started to walk forward. “ **Then I’ll crush that idea of a shinobi!** ” he stated and left a Hatake genius speechless.

Kakashi stared at him for a few seconds before closing his eyes and turned away, he moved the opposite way the Uchiha did.

Miles away from this, a great explosion went off; many Konoha ninjas took cover while one ninja landed softly by them. A man covering his face with his arms looked his way, “You’re finally here!” he exclaimed, relieved.

Minato looked up from his passion, “What’s the situation?” he asked passively.

“There are about 50 enemies, but in comparison, there are only four of us alive,” he said, looking at the field of the fallen ninjas.

Minato set down sets of his special Kunai by each man, “Everyone, throw these by the enemy side together. I’ll handle it after that,” he said, looking at them from over his shoulder, as he jumped up the rocks used as cover.

“That’s crazy, how do you-” a Konoha nin began only to be cut off by another.

“Shut up!” he hissed. “Now we get to see the fight of ‘Konoha's Yellow Flash’… don’t even blink, not for an instant…” he said, looking at the blond in awe as the Namikaze began to do some hand signs.

…

Mitsuko was enjoying her lunch with her mother and Itachi greatly. She was talking to them but stopped abruptly when she felt Obito’s chakra and Kakashi’s separate further and further away. The seal she had placed on his goggles was a double Hiraishin seal.

Both Itachi and Kushina saw as the blonde’s healthy tan skin paled and fright invaded the cerulean orbs, “Mitsuko? What’s wrong?” the redhead asked alarmed. The blonde didn’t say anything, the boy started to panic, but the girl blinked slowly.

“N…nothing…” she replied in a whisper.

Itachi looked up at the royal orbs of the redhead who shook her head, “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, not wanting to push her daughter.

The blonde-red head nodded, not trusting her voice after the last reply, and tried to focus on eating once more.

A few minutes later, after finishing their meal, she got up with her empty plate and grabbed Itachi’s only to stop completely. The hold on the dish vanished, and as the white plate was defeated by gravity. Mitsuko gasped, her eyes widening with horror. Kushina was at her side in a second. At the same time, the Uchiha held the girl from falling onto the sharp pieces of clay, “Mitsuko!” they said, but the Uzumaki was looking far southwest.

Mitsuko’s lips trembled as her hands went numb, “Obi-nii… Kaka-kun,” she whispered, but both heard her effortlessly.

The redhead’s brows knitted together in worry, “Mitsu’ what’s wrong?” she asked, but a second later the girl snapped out of her trance and slipped from Itachi’s arms and rushed to her room

Both of them looked at each other confused, but then hurried up to her room only to find her missing, “Mitsuko!” Kushina called, but no answer came. The young Uchiha looked at the bedroom for a second before running downstairs and out of the house, but she wasn’t there.

…

Obito found the hiding place as he hid over a tall and thick tree. He slapped his cheeks with each hand, _‘Stay calm! I can do this!’_ he thought. The boy grabbed a kunai from his pack and held it in front of him, “Alright, let’s go!” he said determinedly.

“Oh? Where would that be?” a deep voice asked from behind.

He realized too late, he was late, he should have kept his guard up… as he turned, he froze as blood spilled in the air. He watched as Kakashi’s elegant form sliced the enemy with his blade, the boy looked at the enemy passively. The big nose guy was shocked while the Uchiha could only stare at him, “Ka-Kakashi… you… why?” he asked, stunned.

“Hah! You think I’ll leave this to a crybaby ninja like you!” he stated, looking at the raven from the corner of his eye.

_… Kakashi…_

“Silver hair and that white chakra blade, impossible… you,” the man said. “‘Konoha's White Fang’?” he asked surprised.

The silence hung in the air for a few seconds, “This is a memento from my father,” he informed, Obito looked at him with a confused, awed, and soft expression.

The man started to do some hand signs, “I see, the ‘White Fang’s’ brat, there’s no need to worry then,” he said before disappearing.

Kakashi sniffed the air, “His scent has disappeared, I’ll only be able to track him by movements in air currents and sound,” he told Obito.

The Uchiha looked around, “W-Where is he?” he asked, the silver head looked at the boy for a second, but for him, it was enough to notice the movement and small sound.

“Obito, behind you!” he said before moving between them.

The enemy sliced Kakashi’s left eye. Obito was unable to do anything to stop it, “My eye!” he said, placing his hand on the burning wound.

“Kakashi!” the raven yelled with tears on his eyes as he rushed to the teen, “Hey Kakashi! Are you alright?” he asked uneasily.

“Ugh, yeah,” the commander replied. “The enemy’s good. He’s already gotten rid of the kunai with my blood scent,” stated the boy.

Obito looked at him as his tears ran down his cheekbones, “Dirt in your eye again?” he joked. “Shinobi don’t cry…” he said “… I’m not dead yet,” he said softer.

The Uchiha pulled his goggles up from his eyes and wiped the tears away as he remembered Minato’s words, _‘I’m always mouthing off. Everyone always just has to save me… I’m just a mouthing-off loser… but…’_ he thought, standing up.

“Don’t let your guard down,” the silver head warned.

Obito kept wiping his tears, ‘I believe the White Fang was a hero. Those who don’t care about their teammates are even worse than trash,’ his words replayed in his mind. His hand dropped to his side, _‘Those words alone, I don’t want them to be just mouthing-off,’_ he thought as he stood calmly. Kakashi’s senses kicked late, but Obito had already turned around with a kunai in hand.

Kakashi blinked, surprised, “Obito… you,” he gasped as the enemy slowly started to appear.

“H-how? I shouldn’t be seen,” he said before looking at the eyes of his killer. “Wh-what? Those eyes!” he choked out.

“Now, I will protect my comrades!” the raven said as the Iwa nin fell down.

The Hatake stared at him, surprised, “Obito… those eyes,” he said, staring at the red orbs of the Sharingan.

“The Sharingan… I can see,” he whispered.

“Ugh!” Kakashi said, holding his left side of his face.

“Kakashi! You okay?” Obito knelt next to the teen.

Kakashi panted a bit, “Yeah, it seems like my eye is completely useless now,” he said, moving his hand to his bag. He held out a small pack, “I have the emergency treatments that Rin gave me. Let’s patch up my eye to save her,” he told the brunet.

The Uchiha looked at him, “Right!” he said.

After finishing patching his eye, they went into the cave. Both saw the other ninja grabbing Rin by her hair, he turned as the two stood by each other’s sides. “Everyone’s useless,” the man said, running a hand through his hair as he got up.

Obito looked over Rin with his Sharingan, “Rin’s chakra flow is irregular,” he said.

“She could have been put under some genjutsu, it was probably to get information out of Rin quickly,” Kakashi stated. Shifting into a defensive form while grabbing his wrist and Obito into an offensive crouch.

The man smirked as he watched them, “Hmm, it seems like they’re no ordinary brats,” he mumbled to himself.

“We’ve already beaten one, but this one is high speed. Be careful!” Kakashi said.

“Right!” Obito said while the Iwa nin observed them. The second they charged at him, he withdrew his blades with a smirk.

He ran towards them; Kakashi stopped while Obito bent backward to dodge the blade. Kakashi jumped in the air with his blade ready to attack. The enemy moved his arms together, but the Uchiha watched with his Sharingan. The teen quickly placed a hand on the floor and raised both legs to hold off the closing arms while the Hatake sliced his shoulder. He then jumped off from the man’s back while Obito moved sideways from him, and both rushed to the medic.

Kakashi knelt down in front of her, “Kai!” he hissed, and Rin blinked surprised.

“Kakashi… Obito,” she said in a daze.

“Rin, it’s okay!” Obito assured her.

Kakashi nodded, “Right, we better get out of here fast!” he said quickly, the girl smiled warmly.

“Indeed, that was a good combination, but you’re still just brats,” the puffy head said, all of the teens looked at him surprised. “You’re now right in my hands!” he said, slamming his hand on the ground.

A rumble was felt by the three, Kakashi was the first to look up as saw the rocks fall, “Oh, damn,” Obito groaned.

“Everyone, get out of here quickly!” the Hatake yelled. They started to run, but the silver head didn’t, couldn’t see the rock falling towards his left; it hit him, and he was down. Rin and the Uchiha stopped.

“Kakashi!” the medic called while the other teen rushed to his side. Obito looked up and saw a vast bolder falling towards them; he grabbed Kakashi and threw him out of the way.

The Iwa ninja watched as the rocks settle down and smirk, “They were good sources of information, but I had no choice,” he told himself.

Kakashi opened his eyes and gasped, “Are you okay, Rin, Kakashi?” Obito gasped out.

The girl gasped in horror while Kakashi rushed to his side, “Obito!” he yelled.

…

Mitsuko puffed on top of a tree only to find a body and Obito’s goggles, she cursed and started to follow the chakra trail left behind by the Uchiha. She came upon the entrance of a cave and waited with her chakra masked until she was needed. The blonde gasped as the man did a Doton technique, and she quickly made the hand signs and whispered, “Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique,” softly.

She sunk into the ground and appeared behind Obito, who was frozen in place by a falling rock. She tackled him, pushed him away as she fell down, and suck into the ground to get away from the massive mess. She sighed as the body of her friend was free from harm, but not safe.

She heard the gasps and cries from the others, “Shit!” Kakashi said as he tried to lift the rock that was almost on top of the lower part of Obito’s body yet made him unable to move.

Obito shook his head, “Stop. I’m stuck; my legs are slowly being crushed by the rocks that still haven’t settled… I can’t escape,” he said hissing, “This is the end for me…” he stated. Kakashi was panting from trying to lift the rock while Rin had tears on the sides of her eyes.

“No… why? This…” she sobbed.

“Ugh!” Obito said as his foot was almost being crushed.

“Obito!” she called.

Kakashi slammed his fist into the ground, “Damn it!” he growled, “I… from the beginning if I had gone along with what you’d said and went with you to rescue Rin… something like this wouldn’t have happened!” he said. Obito looked at him from his place on the ground, “What kind of commander? What kind of jonin!” the Hatake asked himself.

The Uchiha watched Kakashi struggled and smiled, “Hey… no, forget it,” he said. Rin looked at him puzzled, Kakashi looked at him, “I’m… the only one that… didn’t give you a present… at your jonin celebration, right? Kakashi,” Obito asked with his right eye closed from the pain inflicted on his leg. The boy looked at his… friend… stunned, “I was wondering what I could give you… and now… I’ve come up with it,” he said with a grin. “Don’t… worry… it’s not useless,” he told him, Kakashi could only stare at him dumbly.

He closed his eyes as the rock put more pressure on his leg, he opened his left eye, “It’s… this Sharingan… of mine,” he told him softly, the smile never fading. Kakashi’s eye widened more, while Rin watched with running down her face. “The people in the village, what must they be saying? That you’re a great ninja… a great jonin…” he said while Kakashi gulped. “That’s how I feel, please accept this,” he implored, the scarecrow’s brows furrowed. The medic wiped her tears from her face, “Rin, with your medical jutsu, please take out my Sharingan and… implant it into Kakashi’s left eye,” he said to her.

“Kakashi come over here so we can start quickly!” she said.

The teen looked at them, “I’m going to die Kakashi, what use is it to me?” he asked. “I can become your eye, and from now on, I… we will see the future,” he stated, and with that, Kakashi ripped off his bandages.

An explosion came from the rocks. The enemy ninja turned around and sighed, “Stubborn, aren’t we? You’re _still_ alive,” he sneered. Kakashi stood on top of the rocks with his eyes shut, the left one freeing tears like a river. The man turned to him, “But you’re still a brat, shinobi don’t cry. Come on, crybaby! I’ll break you apart,” he said, and mismatched eyes opened. The beauty of the Sharingan now rested on his left eye.

**Omake~ I hate you**

Kakashi waited for his sensei on the bridge, it was the first time he was late. He sighed and leaned his head back, he heard a puff and glared, “Why a-” he was cut off by the blond jonin.

“Before you start, I want to tell you that we have two new teammates!” Minato said.

The Hatake blinked, “What?” he asked.

“The Sandaime just told me, they should be here any second,” he grinned at him. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a small girl with purple rectangles came walking down the road.

The genius sighed. Kakashi’s profile from watching her was weak and useless. Minato smiled, “You must be Rin,” he said, the girl nodded and looked at the silver head and blushed.

“N-nice to meet you,” she said, the boy nodded and looked away; the blond sighed and started to talk to her about her knowledge.

An hour later, they were still waiting, a rushing boy appeared, “Am I late?” he asked.

Kakashi glared, “It’s the first meeting as a team, and you’re LATE!” he growled. The first thing that popped into his head was, ‘idiot.’ Oh, how he hated the kid. The layback attitude as he apologized, his goofy grin and blush as he looked at the medic; at least she was useful in a way. The carefree orbs behind those orange goggles bothered him. His loud and cheerful persona angered him.

Was this guy for real?

Did he seriously want to be a ninja? The only thing he got right was his clothes! Oh, he was going to _hate_ this guy.


	7. 6: Fallen Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuko has to decide lots of things.

Mitsuko cursed, she needed to get Obito out of there, but Rin was with him. The little girl glared at nothing; she would just have to wait.

Kakashi stood, looking at the enemy with calm eyes. He heard Obito talk, “Kakashi, take care of Rin,” he said, looking at him with his right eye.

“Of course,” he said before running to the enemy with his father’s weapon in hand. The man from Iwa sliced the blade clean as it came to him; the teen was unfazed by it.

The Sharingan seemed to glow as it stared at the man passively; the Hatake landed on the balls of his feet while doing a quick set of hand seals. The elder prepared to attack, while the younger finished his jutsu and lighting molded on his right hand. When the broken blade finally hit the ground, the life of a ninja was cut.

Waiting, Rin and Obito watched the hole; she gasped as the head of the enemy popped into view, “Relax, Rin,” Obito said, smirking. A teen threw the man aside, the teen panted as he looked down at his team, “Kakashi, take Rin out of here. Hurry, the enemy’s reinforcements are coming for sure,” he told him, the boy said nothing.

“Obito,” Rin said, holding on to his hand tighter.

The Uchiha let go of her hand “It’s alright, go!” he said, the girl looked down with a frown.

Mitsuko was starting to get pissed, “Rin,” Kakashi called, moving his hand over to help her out. New chakra signatures’ appeared, the teen looked back, surprised, “Rin! Hurry, grab on!” he ordered as the enemy did a Doton release.

The Uzumaki moved up from the ground and waited until the view was blocked. She thanked the heavens for the jutsu they used only reinforced the rocks on the top and not the earth’s ground.

Rin stared at Obito’s right eye, “Rin!” he said, the girl looked up painfully and grabbed the hand of her teammate, both watched as Obito disappear under the rubble.

“OBITO!” Rin yelled.

Mitsuko made her move then, she appeared next to the Uchiha, “Mitsuko!” he asked, alarmed.

“Let’s go, Obi-nii,” she said, grabbing him and started to flow her Doton chakra around him so he could sink down with her.

When they were safe, she moved up and appeared behind a tree, “Mi-!” he was going to say, but she coved his mouth with her small hand.

“You need medical treatment. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine,” Mitsuko said before smiling at him and held him tightly. Next thing he knew, they were outside of Konoha’s Hospital's main entrance.

“How?” he asked, but she shook her head.

“Stay here,” she told him. He could only stare at her dumbly “Help!” she called rushing into the hospital.

“What is it?” a medic asked.

“My friend! He’s outside and has a very damage leg,” the little girl said with tears in her eyes, the man gasped as they spilled.

“Where is he?” he asked worriedly. Mitsuko grabbed his hand in her little warm one and pulled him outside where Obito was panting and holding his bleeding leg.

When the Uchiha looked up, he could only watch the little blonde wipe what he believed were the dangerous teary-kicked-puppy-eyes no jutsu she created for her father. The medic ran to his side and quickly did a scan, the boy suddenly felt all of the tension crash into him, and the next second, everything was black.

The little girl gasped and looked at the medic with panic, “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Just chakra exhaustion and a bad leg, not too much blood loss, in a few weeks, he’ll be as good as new,” he told the kid.

“Really?” she asked, this time in real concern and the man nodded while carrying the boy in his arms. The blonde followed him until a room where he was being treated.

“You can stay for as long as you like,” he told her, patting her head.

“Thank you!” she beamed at him and jumped into bed, she laid next to him while looking at him sadly.

The medical ninja smiled and left, but soon, his smile vanished and left a deep frown. He noticed that the boy just had one eye, and he really wanted to know what happened to his other.

Mitsuko sighed, and she made two clones, “Uh… Itachi and mom…” she told them, and they sighed but left through the window.

…

_‘…Am I… dead…’_ mismatch eyes opened, _‘Where… am I?’_ a sky full of stars greeted him.

“Hmm? You’re awake,” a familiar voice said.

“Sensei!” Kakashi sat up quickly.

“Yes?” was the blonde’s calm reply.

The silver head looked at him, wide-eyed, “How?” he inquired.

“The mark on this kunai is a type of jutsu that alerts me when it flies,” he said, holding one of his special weapons.

“So… the enemy…” he said.

Minato nodded, “I defeated them,” he stated.

Kakashi gasped, “Rin!” he exclaimed, “What about Rin?” he asked, Minato pointed a finger to the filed.

The teen looked over and sighed when he saw her, “I’m sorry I wasn’t in time Kakashi, I heard it all from Rin,” he said softly.

The girl was looking up at the sky with a sad smile “…Obito…” was what Kakashi said before crying. Minato looked down at his student and placed an arm around him, the silver head lean into the warmth, “I… it was my fault if I had listened to him, he wouldn’t… he wouldn’t… he’d still be with us!” he sobbed.

“Shh, it’s not your fault Kakashi,” Minato told him softly, “In this world of ninja, that’s how things run,” he told him, but the boy shook his head.

“No,” he whispered.

-

The next day, the grass bridge was destroyed, and three ninjas decided it was time to go home.

Kakashi vowed to himself that no matter how essential rules and regulations were, he would protect his companions, his comrades, his friends before anything else. Before going back, they went to the spot where Obito had gained his Sharingan and retrieved his goggles.

The team was quiet without the Uchiha, everyone felt the loss of him, but Kakashi was the one with the problem.

A few hours later, the gates of Konoha were before them, “Rin, go home,” Minato told her.

“Alright,” she said since she had nothing to report to the Hokage.

Both jonin were soon in the Hokage Tower, Minato knocked on the door, and he heard giggles coming from inside, “Come in,” the gentle and happy voice of the Sandaime Hokage said. The blonde opened the door and smiled warmly.

“Daddy!” the cheerful and light voice of his daughter greeted him as she hopped off the Hokage’s lap and rushed to him. When he was in the middle of the room, she jumped towards him.

The Namikaze had to bend a bit to catch her, “Hey!” he chirped.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Did you kick some butt?” she asked with a smile.

“Hmm, yes, I’m fine. No, I didn’t get hurt, and yeah… I kicked butt,” Minato told her softly and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

“What about you, Ka-kun?” she asked, looking down at him. Kakashi now had his headband covering his left eye; the blond set her down and looked at his student.

Mitsuko walked over to him and grabbed his hand gently, “Ka-kun?” she asked softly, her big eyes softening considerably. The boy’s eye widened, and he smiled sadly under his mask.

“Hn, I’m okay…” he said.

Minato looked at the Hokage and nodded, “Both missions were successful, the information we gather was sent to you. The bridge was destroyed,” he looked down at his daughter, who was looking at him with her head tilted. “But…” he stopped and knelt in front of her and placed his hands on her small shoulders, “Mitsuko… Obito… Obito won’t be coming back,” he told her softly, at this the Hokage’s eyes widened.

“W-what?” the little girl asked.

“Mitsu,’ I’m sorry,” he told her, the little girl looked over at Kakashi, but he looked away guilty.

“No… that’s a lie!” she said, backing away from her father’s warm hands, “You’re liars,” she said, glaring. If she wasn’t so cute, they would feel a bit of fear, but her innocent glare only increased the dread they had.

Kakashi kneeled down and sighed, “Mitsu-chan… Obi-nii won’t be able to play with you anymore, but… I’ll play with you instead of him,” he promised, and the girl gasped.

“Jii-chan! They’re impostors!” Mitsuko pushed Kakashi, making him fall on his butt, and ran to the side of the Hokage, who was now watching a bit amused. The little girl held her arms for him to hug her, which he did, and then she glared at them.

Minato sighed, “Mitsuko,” he said, but the girl shook her head.

“No! You guys are not my Daddy or ‘Shi-nii!” she said and hid her face on the crook of the Sandaime’s neck. Kakashi was too shocked to get up from his spot on the floor.

“Can’t you understand! Obito won’t be back!” Kakashi said, looking down, his eye hidden by his hair.

The Hokage chuckled and got up, “Ne, Mitsuko-chan, why don’t you show them?” he asked, the girl looked at him and then at the ‘imposters’ and nodded.

She walked over to them, “Follow me,” she said and walked past them.

The Third nodded, “Go on, you can give me the report in detail after she shows you what she wants to show you,” he said.

The two jonin looked at each other, but nodded; “Yes,” they said and followed the little blonde.

After they exited the building, the girl skipped down the road. She noticed a boy walking with an old lady, and she smiled, “Itachi!” she called, running to him. Minato blinked and watched his daughter start to talk to the Uchiha heir.

The man looked at his student, but saw him looking elsewhere, “Kakashi,” he said softly.

“No.” 

Minato sighed and blinked as the lady left without the boy. The dark-haired child stood next to his light, they had reached them. He was looking at her curiously, “Mitsu?” he asked, both kids looked at them, the boy’s eyes widened, and she beamed at him, her eyes clearly asked ‘Can I tell him? Can I?’ at him.

He looked at the boy and sighed, “Itachi… this is-” the boy nodded.

“Konoha’s Yellow Flash,” he said, but the girl pouted.

Itachi looked at her and blinked, “What?” he asked innocently, she glared at him and sighed.

“Yeah…” she smiled and looked at her father, “Daddy, this is Uchiha Itachi, my new friend!” she said, almost making the boy choke.

“Daddy?” he asked, stunned.

She nodded, “Yup! He’s my Dad,” she told him proudly.

The blond smiled at them, “Hello, Itachi-kun,” he said, bending down and holding his hand in the air, the Uchiha took it and shook his hand.

The boy could only stare, “Nice to meet you,” he said after getting that he was staring.

“Nice to meet you, too,” the blond said with a kind smile, “Mitsuko, what did you want to show us?” he asked, looking at her and getting up.

The little girl smiled, “Ah! Itachi, this is Hatake Kakashi, ‘Shi-nii, Itachi,” she introduced them. Both boys only nodded, “Alright! Follow me!” she cheered and walked to the direction of the hospital.

After a few minutes, they were walking through the doors of the building. Mitsuko nodded to the nurses and medics who already knew what she was doing, plus, the Yellow Flash was with her, so… yeah. Mitsuko came to a stop on a door, she turned to them and placed a finger on her lips, “Quite, he’s sleeping,” she told them and opened the door quietly. Itachi followed calmly, while the ninja walked in curiously.

Minato closed the door behind him and walked in, Kakashi was right behind him, but he stopped once he saw him. His light got on the bed while Itachi sat on a chair, “H-how?” he asked. Kakashi didn’t really want to see, but once he heard the choke from his sensei, he moved past him to see.

The boy almost fell as he saw the sleeping Uchiha in bed, “See?” they heard the soft voice of the blonde asked.

His legs took him to the side of his teammate and friend, “Obito?” he asked, but the only response was the steady breathing of the teen.

“Mitsuko, how?” Minato asked the girl, shrugged.

“Didn’t you bring him here?” she asked innocently, “I was passing by when I saw Obi-nii by the Hospital doors,” she told them looking down at the raven.

“No,” he said, and the girl tilted her head confused.

“Then… how?” Mitsuko asked, knowing well that Itachi was looking at her with, ‘I-know-it-was-you,’ look that he developed over the last four days.

The door opened, and the redhead beauty walked in but stopped “Minato,” she said, the shocked blond turned around and smiled at her.

“Kushina,” he said warmly, the Jinchuuriki ran up to him and hugged him.

“Welcome back,” she said relieved.

He held her tightly, “I’m back,” he said, burying his nose on the locks of his love.

She moved away and looked at the bed, “What happened?” she asked, cupping his face.

“Later,” he told her closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth she gave him.

Kushina nodded, “Alright… Mitsuko and Itachi-kun were attacked four days ago,” she told him, and he gasped along with Kakashi.

Both looked at her and then at the Uchiha, “Are you okay? Were you hurt?” he asked, rushing to his baby.

“I’m fine,” she told them pouting.

“I still don’t know how she fought nine chunin and a jonin from Iwa and was left with only a small scratch after they attacked them,” the redhead said. Kushina knew this was no place to talk about it, but she wanted Minato to know as soon as possible.

The blonde looked at her father, and then at her mother, she gazed at Kakashi and then at Itachi. Mitsuko sighed and looked at her parents’ determinedly, “I want you to teach me Fuinjutsu,” she said, making all of them gasp.

“What?” Minato asked the blonde sighed.

“I want to learn Fuinjutsu,” she said slowly.

Kakashi could only stare at her, wide-eyed, “… If you tell me how you defeated ten ninjas,” her father said, the blonde looked at Obito and then at her father.

She had two options; tell them to forget about it and not tell them about the fight or start her training on seals while preparing for the battle in a year… “Not here,” she suggested as she got down from the bed and walked over to Itachi. He got up and was ready to go anywhere she would.

The ninja looked at them bemused but still followed them. Kakashi looked at Obito one last time and placed his goggles on the stand; he turned around and followed the others. The blonde looked at Itachi, and he nodded, she sighed but nodded back; when they got home, the little girl moved to her father’s training ground on the back of the house. Minato and everyone else watched the kids move to the middle of the field, “What do you want me to tell you?” she asked passively.

All of them blinked at the sudden super serious look she was sending them, “Did you fight against those ninjas?” the blond asked.

“I did,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“How?” he asked her.

“Papa, let’s just get these unnecessary questions out of the way and begin with the important ones,” she told him.

Kakashi and Kushina blinked, surprised. Minato looked at her with narrowed eyes, “Mitsuko, can you show me all you know?” he questioned her.

The blonde sighed if she showed him this, then there was no going back.

The girl jumped backward and landed on a tree trunk smoothly. Mitsuko looked ‘up’ to meet her father’s wide eyes, “I can do the water walking technique as well,” she said, hopping off and making her favorite hand sign. Five clones of her appeared on the field, “I can make more than five by the way.”

The Hatake felt the need to sit down, but the next second, his bottom was hitting the snow-covered ground, “This is how I learn my jutsus…” she said as her clones puffed away. Minato opened his mouth, but found it slightly open; he shut it and cleared his throat.

“And what would those be?” he asked in an almost calm voice. Kushina was starting to get past her shock, but she knew that whatever their light would tell them next would be something neither would imagine so soon.

Mitsuko smiled and looked at Kakashi, “How about I show you; ‘Shi-nii?” she asked, “Would you like to test me?” she questioned.

The silver head looked up at the stunned face of his sensei and then at the strained smile of the girl “… I,” he said, and the girl sighed, she turned to Itachi and nodded. In a second, the boy jumped back high enough to land on a tree branch while the girl disappeared from her spot.

All of the ninjas moved quickly when a kunai was thrown at them. The group looked up to see Mitsuko by her window, tying her gear around her left thigh while her bag was already around her waist, “Don’t worry… I won’t go down so easily,” she told them, putting on some fingerless gloves. She smiled down at the teen and jumped down, her fist by her head, getting ready to punch the boy.

Kakashi crooked a brow and jumped sideways enough to avoid her hit, but she didn’t stop; she hit the ground, creating a crater. She stood up and glanced at him -he was on the ground wide-eyed- from the corner of her eyes. “Don’t take me lightly,” she said as two clones jumped from behind him. Kakashi looked back, but the girl was already running at him with a kunai at hand, he froze before jumping high on the air, only to be hit on the back with a kick.

Minato and Kushina’s jaw dropped to the floor; in less than a minute, Mitsuko had created three clones to hide. Two of them attacked from behind, while she attacked from the front, and the last clone waited for the genius to jump on the air to kick him onto the ground.

Kakashi landed on a crouch, he was now a bit more serious as he sent two shurikens to the clones while slicing the third with a kunai at hand. He looked at the innocent blonde girl and glared; his pride as ninja and jonin were starting to get damaged by the Uzumaki. Mitsuko made some hand signs and breathe through her nose, the next second she was sending three water shots from her mouth, “Water Release: Gunshot,” she had said before spitting them out.

The scarecrow gasped and jumped back, all of the present people looked at her surprised. The girl smirked as he moved around to dodge the attacks, she charged at him with her knives, and she was about to slice him by the arm, but he stopped her with his own kunai. The boy seemed satisfied by her frown, but blinked when a foxy grin appeared on her lips, “That’s not good enough, ‘Shi-nii,” she said putting more pressure and slicing the weapon in two.

Minato gasped, “Wind Chakra Flow…” he whispered and watched as her daughter kicked his stunned student on the stomach and send him flying. Mitsuko made a few hand signs and gulped in some air.

“Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!” she called, shooting small bullets of chakra towards the flying boy. He covered his face, but some blows hit him, he noticed that they only stung a bit, but nothing serious… she had controlled her chakra to only give him minor hits. 

Kushina couldn’t take her eyes from her child, “Water… and Wind,” she said softly. Itachi watched his friend move gracefully as the two started a taijutsu competition. Because of the blonde’s short height, Kakashi was wining.

Mitsuko growled; she really hated being trapped in a body of a four-year-old… though that was her actual age. She glared and jumped back while making a few hand signs and concentrating her chakra, “Assimilated Rock Blizzard,” she hissed lowly as she landed. Sharp points of rock were sent his way quickly. All four watching her stunned to the core, but Kakashi managed to dodge in time only to land on his side. When the boy looked back at her spot, the blonde girl was gone.

“Earth Release: Earth Pillar Prison!” she said from behind. All eyes turned to her just as a cell of earth trapped the Hatake in place, “I told you not to take me lightly, Ka-ka-shi-nii,” she said, smiling sweetly.

Kakashi’s eye was as wide as it could get, _‘D-did she just_ beat _**me**?’_ he asked himself.

 _‘N-no way,’_ Itachi thought, he had been keeping a close eye on her, but he didn’t see her run or whatever she did to get there so fast.

Minato and Kushina were holding their breaths, “T-three…” Minato whispered, breathing once more.

“…nature chakras,” Kushina finished for him. They looked at one another and then at their child, who was grinning happily at Kakashi… a jonin.

The Namikaze snapped out of his thoughts and walked over to her, “Mitsuko,” he called, blue eyes met blue in a second.

She got up from her crouch position and let the teen free, “Yes?” she asked calmly.

The man looked at her for a while, “Is that all?” he asked.

The girl shook her head, “Jiraiya-jiji needs to come soon, I need to sign the contract,” she told him, placing her hands behind her head and looking at Itachi. The young Uchiha hopped down and walked over to her, “Oh! And this, too!” she said, holding her hand up in the air and gathering chakra in her hand. Eyes widened as spinning chakra quickly formed and maintained a sphere shape on her palm, “… But…” she said and shook her head. Minato could only stare at the shape form of chakra he had developed and was trying to perfect.

It was all in the hand of her four-year-old daughter, “How? How did you learn that?” he asked, now looking at her in a grave matter. The ball of pure chakra vanished from her hand, and she looked at everyone with a critical gaze.

“Let go inside,” she told them and nodded to her Uchiha friend.

When everyone was settled in the dining room, Mitsuko got a scroll out and set in on the table, “If I tell you this, you will first have to sign this with your name in blood,” she told them. Minato and Kushina looked at the paper and gasped; they looked at the nervous-looking blonde and back at the scroll. Itachi watched the scene with a passive gaze.

“Mitsuko… did… did you make this?” Kushina asked, and the blonde nodded.

The girl rubbed the back of her head, “I… kinda looked over the family scroll. Found this interesting set of contracts, and came up with this incomplete one, seemed to need some work, and I hoped to… finish it… but it’s not good, huh?” she babbled.

“No… it’s good! Great,” Minato said, looking over the complex seal.

“So, you only looked over the others and read over the incomplete one, right?” Kushina asked; the blonde nodded slowly.

She touched the writing, and the ink turned red, “I wrote it with my blood,” she told them, the two seal masters blinked surprised.

“This silent contract seal… you made it seriously,” Minato stated in his serious voice.

“Yes. I don’t want any of the things I’m about to tell you, to somehow get out,” Mitsuko said, looking at work with a thoughtful expression. Kushina sighed and bit her thumb, she wrote her name without Mitsuko, explaining the consequences.

“Mom!” she exclaimed.

“What?” she asked, finishing her name.

“You didn’t let me explain what would happen if you tried to say something about the information,” she said, horrified.

“Don’t care, I won’t say anything,” she told her with a smile. Mitsuko looked at her wide-eyed and didn’t notice her father finishing writing the contract.

“P-Papa?” she asked, looking at his name.

“Hmm?” he asked, looking at her softly, the blonde sighed.

“‘Shi-nii, Itachi… if you sign this contract, then you won’t be able to say a word about the information I’ll give you,” she said gravely. She looked at them warningly, “If you try, the muscles on your tongue will numb every time you try to repeat. To even hint things to other people besides the one on this scroll,” Mitsuko warned, both boys looked at her and nodded. She looked down at her work and back at the prodigies. “If you sign it, then I will be able to know when you try to break it, no matter how small the slip is, I will find out,” she told them and nodded. “If you wish to continue, then please sign it,” she said gently.

Minato and Kushina were impressed with the bounds of the seal and her, both kids wrote their name on it, and she smiled, “Good,” she said while the scroll puffed away. “Now… no matter what I tell you, what I say; you will go on with life as if you never heard this,” she commanded, they nodded, and the girl sighed, it was now, or never.

“When I turned three… I regain my lost memories,” Mitsuko began softly as she watched their reactions. The girls wanted to laugh at their confused faces, but she didn’t dare; this was far too important to mess with. She took a deep breath and looked at her parents, “You don’t know how happy I was to find out that… you were at my side. I had suffered far too much, and I had grown tired of it,” she said, looking down at her hands.

The ninjas looked at her confused while Itachi had somehow a feeling he knew something, something that he should remember he experienced as well. The girl looked up with sad and somehow lonely eyes, “My childhood was… full of hatred and loneliness, no one ever believed in me or respected me. I grew up alone. After I became a ninja, I had hoped things would change… yet everything stayed the same,” she said, clenching her fists.

She closed her eyes tightly, “I was considered a failure, a dead last. They always believed I would be the first to die. They never took a second glance at me… They could only see Him in me, they didn’t want to meet me; they could only see _Him,_ ” she whispered painfully. They looked at her confused. Mitsuko wasn’t making any sense at all. She was skipping things, she wasn’t telling them everything.

Just what was she tired of? Where were Minato and Kushina? A failure? Dead last? Who is Him?

She looked at them with painful and lonely eyes, “My life had been… crap,” she said with a small bitter smile.

“Mitsuko!” Kishina scolded, the girl looked up at her and smiled gently.

“I never had anyone teach me what was right and what was wrong. I was alone until he came into my life; until I made those bonds…” she looked down once more and sighed. “I was paired up with a teme, a fangirl, and pervert,” she laughed, hitting her forehead, and she clenched her teeth.

“Even then… I was alone and not cared for. My sensei cared more about the avenger; the girl loved him, and I tried to beat him at everything. I wanted everyone to see me as someone important, not some… loser,” she was about to say container, but she stopped herself. They looked at her wide-eyed, “After a while, things settled down a bit. The chunin exams came up, and we entered. I had improved a lot back then, but not enough. I still need to catch up with him…” she said sadly.

“I was still unwanted, unloved, feared.” She intertwined her hands together; “We were on our second test when everything changed. The bastard met him, I was retained from my power… fate had a test for Konoha,” she scowled darkly. “He tainted him, he took him away from us… my brother took the dark path..” she sighed.

Minato and Kushina blinked, “What?” they asked, Kakashi smirked under his mask, but the girl’s eyes stopped them from whatever they thought she meant.

“My friend and rival, the guy that became my best friend and my brother,” she told them, and they nodded. “His brother appeared soon after before the teme decided his path as a true avenger,” she said sadly. “They were after me, they wanted me and others like me,” she growled and stood up. Gaara’s tired face filled her mind, and she needed to calm down, but it was too hard. “My next sensei saved me… but it cost me a great price,” she said, and a lonely tear slipped her face.

**Omake~ Annoying little girl**

He glared, the man smiled sheepishly, and there was a giggle. Both males looked at the toddler looking at them with big innocent azure eyes. The boy sighed, irritated, “Sensei, what is she doing here?” a ten-year-old Kakashi asked.

“Well, Kushina said I needed to spend more time with Mitsuko, so she told me to take care of her today. Plus, our mission is not that great,” the blond told his student as he knelt down and opened his arms.

The little girl laughed and rushed as fast as she could to her father’s arms, “But she’ll get in the way!” the boy argued. Twin orbs turned to him, one so very innocent and pure, while the other matured and amused.

“No, she won’t. She’ll help a lot!” he told him. The boy glared, he doubted that.

The mission was horrible. Kakashi had to paint a stupid fence, and the little girl kept helping in a cute-annoying way that slowed him down. She was too cute, cute enough to annoy him so. He could not take his eyes off of her as she dipped her little hand of the white paint and slammed her hands on the wood. The giggles she gave and the way she would get paint all over her father was funny, it annoyed him!

Now, as the girl rested on the grass next to him as the Namikaze finished the fence just because he had done his part and said that it was his fault for not getting it done sooner, he had to do it. The little girl had gone to sleep so easily and quickly, right next to him, too. The two-year-old was too cute for him to not feel his heart melt for her, god she was annoying. Worming her way through his heart in a second. Annoying little girl.

Even so, he would do anything for her, but he wasn’t about to tell his sensei!


	8. 7: Other Self's Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuko is about to confuse the hell out of some people!

_Gaara’s tired face filled her mind, and she needed to calm down, but it was too hard. “My next sensei saved me… but it cost me a great price,” she said, and a lonely tear slipped her face._

Minato and Kushina were about to get up, but she shook her head, “Two of my important people were badly hurt; we needed to find her… I was trained by my second sensei. Yet, he left me alone to train and get the jutsu by myself, while he searched for her,” she sighed and sat back down. “By this time, my friend was struggling in his mind, trying to decide what he would do. When we found her and her apprentice, He came back. He wanted his arms back… so he offered her a great deal,” she hissed with venom.

All of them looked wide-eyed at her. She was changing emotions rapidly, “I had a week to win the bet we made; I tried my best for those days, but I still didn’t get that jutsu,” she sighed. “On the night before the last day, she drugged my sensei, knocked her apprentice out while I was out cold from chakra exhaustion. I woke up the next day only to find out what he had offered her; her lover and her brother,” she frowned.

Mitsuko looked up at the ceiling, “She turned his offer down. When we caught up with them, she was safe, yet her phobia had defeated her. I risked my life to save her, then, as his servant was about to get her, I stepped in. We fought, and I won with that jutsu… but I almost died… if she hadn’t healed me… I would have died,” she smiled sadly. “When I woke up, we were heading back to Konoha. I had my prize around my neck, and ready to bring the new Hokage to her city,” she smiled and heard four gasped.

Her smiled turned into a deep frown, “A few days after my brother woke up, he had made his choice. He left the village after our fight had been interrupted…” she bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly. “The Hokage send four genins and one chunin after him, I was one of those genins,” she said but stopped her father from speaking when he opened his mouth. “We were more than capable of that mission, yet they had help from those stupid marks that helped my friend choose what he chose,” she said sadly.

The faces of her team flashed into her mind, “One by one, we were left to fight an enemy, each almost dying after they won. We got reinforcements after a while, but as I caught up with my friend, he had been experiencing a power he had wanted for his revenge. He liked it, he enjoyed it… even if it turned him into a monster,” she shuddered remembering his final form. Her eyes and jaw shut tightly, “The pain I felt when he told me I was his best friend, his brother, and for that reason, he needed to kill me was too great,” she spat through her tightly shut teeth.

“To think that hurt more than the hand that pierced through my right lung, a few inches away from my heart. He was alone, too. I wanted so badly to save him, to help him… but he wouldn’t let me,” she said, containing the tears threatening to spill. Her eyes open only to see four horrified faces, “If it weren’t for Him, I would have died. We fought, each taping into the forbidden power we held,” she spoke softly.

Her eyes softened with pain, “Two times he tried to kill me, one I deflected, while the other succeeded. He healed me, the broken neck I had,” at this both her parents hissed mad. “That was the first time I truly got a taste of his power,” she said bitterly. “That fight created a gap for the next three years, he left, and I did the same. My sensei took me around the world to train, when I got back, everyone had changed; they had grown,” she said softly.

She grinned, thinking of Gaara once more, “One even became Kage… he’s special, my other brother… my mate in loneliness. He was like me; I had to fight him once. It had been horrible to see and fight what I could have become if I had made the wrong choice. His pain was greater than mine, he was alone, and he was capture,” she glared, her pupils slid a bit. “Those bastards had gotten ahold of him. They took out the power he had…” she choked.

Her hands ran over her closed eyes, making the tears disappeared, “It was always him… always! Finally, he had gotten the respect and acknowledgment he wanted only to be taken away by _them,_ ” she growled enraged. “I traveled as fast as I could to save him, yet I failed to do that too! I felt so useless, so _weak_!” she hugged herself, “A sacrifice was made to bring him back, a life, for a life,” she said sadly.

“After that, we got word on the bastard that took my brother from me. When I met him, I went to level three… and lost control until level four,” she whispered. “I… I hurt a friend with that power. My anger and hatred got the best out of me… but when we caught up with my friend, everything just broke. He had no intention on coming back, he wanted so badly to kill his brother,” she sighed defeated.

“Soon after that, I began to perfect that jutsu, my first sensei finally took the time to teach me along with the second commander of my team,” she said, smirking at her father. “You’ll love it,” she told him and then grimed. “The death of a great comrade fell upon us, and yet again, that group came to us,” she said sadly. “I had time to test my new jutsu; I’ll never forget how beautiful and deadly it is. At that moment, I felt like I could take on the world… that’s when my new idea came to mind,” she said solemnly.

She shook her head, “Great minds think alike; my friend had the same thought. If I wanted to get to him, I would have to capture his brother. That was extremely dangerous, by the way. He was after me, he was from that organization… yet my brother found him first. On that day, my world fell apart,” she whispered. She looked at everyone, they were all speechless, but there was something behind each one. It was different from everyone; Kakashi was looking at her, clearly not believing what she said.

Itachi looked at her seriously; Kushina was trying to take everything in while Minato attempted to read her. “I got to meet the leader of the organization, we found out the older brother was killed by his younger brother… yet I couldn’t save him. The bastard had taken him from us, once more, he was out of our reach,” she and let the tears fall freely. “When we got back to the village, the next news crumbled my world,” she choked and took deep breaths.

She didn’t look at anyone as she said this, yet her eyes reflected her hurt. “My sensei, the one that I travel with, died on a mission retrieving information from the organization that was after me.” She gasped, and tears poured down her face, “He was my master, my… family,” she choked out and shut her eyes; the memories were too painful, even if at this time, he was alive. “I took my next training, I got a power that I had always dreamed of,” she told them.

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and got serious, “After mastering it, I was practicing how to perform it by moving. Meanwhile, here in Konoha, a man was looking for me… It was time to take me and execute their plan on me,” she whispered. “Many died, Konoha was destroyed and… I lost complete control,” she said and looked at her father. “You saved me. You brought me back from the hatred and pain I was drowning in… you gave me the courage to face that hate and pain. You believed in me,” she smiled at him. He could only hold his breath at her emotions dancing in her eyes.

“I took out the last of his puppets, then, I moved out in search of the real one,” she spoke softly. “I spoke with him, I stubbornly refused to fight him,” she said, and all of them looked at her stunned, “We talked about our pains, our sensei. He made a choice; he chose to believe in me and brought back the lives he had taken away while his search for me,” she sighed, smiling sadly. Mitsuko looked at her mother and smiled regretfully, “He died after his decision,” she whispered.

“The next thing to happen was our Hokage had fallen ill, and we needed someone to take her place. That mummy did, he was ready to change Konoha; he made my brother a missing-nin and gave permission to a Kage to hunt him down and kill him.” She glared at the table, “I went to the Kage summit, where I tried to ask the Kage to forget about him, but he did not listen,” she grumbled. “Then, while I stayed there to see if I could change his mind, the leader of that organization appeared in front of me; he told me the truth about his clan and his rival clan. He told me something that made me respect the teme’s brother,” she whispered with a sad smile.

“He gave up everything for the village, but he gave up the village for his brother,” she said with respect. “He saved us, yet he made sure to drill into my brother’s head to kill him. I regret so much what I told him before he died… he must have suffered at those words, yet he gave me some kind of power, his power,” she mumbled sadly. “Next thing I know, I’m facing my hate-filled brother. He wanted his brother, his family, his clan back, and Konoha to disappear. I fought him one last time before the war… I knew I would die if I fought him for real,” she whispered and looked at everyone.

The angry and horrified faces warmed her heart; “Soon, I met my sensei to controlling that insane power I carried. You helped with this… your words saved me,” she whispered to her mother. “And then, I had a new seal… a new power and a new purpose,” she told them, her eyes full of determination. “ _‘Before the beast can be housed, we must fill the vessel with love,’_ those words gave me so much hope,” she told her.

Kushina gasped, horrified, “N-no,” Kushina whimpered, but Mitsuko smiled softly at her. “H-how?” she asked, the blonde shook her head.

“I’ll explain every question you have in a moment,” she told her. She looked at the confused gazes of the others and sighed, “I got help from my raping-sensei. He was at peace with his own. Then, the war began,” she said, and Minato and Kakashi grimed at this. Itachi looked unhappy while Kushina was still shocked by her discovery.

“That man went all out; he had six pieces while only I had two. That man gained an advantage over us with the help of a hybrid… Our special people were brought back from the grave,” she hissed. “We fought as long as we could, but when I had to face my brother, he stepped in and captured me. Most of my friends tried to save me, but they lost their lives doing so,” she looked away painfully.

“The extraction was painful, I don’t have a clue how long it was before he contacted me… then, I made a deal with the demon,” Mitsuko announced, and Kushina gasped, understanding perfectly who she was talking about, but the others didn’t. “I died at age sixteen. I died in the middle of the extraction; it saved my time. That was my price. A life for a life. A new chance for the world; for me. I was sent back in time,” she said softly.

All of them gasped, Kushina believing everything she said, while the others looked at her with mixed feelings. Kushina got up and hugged her, “I’m so sorry… I-I left you that burden. I’m sorry I had to die…” she whispered sobbing. Minato gasped at this; he froze as his heart stopped. Mitsuko blinked and those words repeated in her head, she did the only thing she could. A river of tears flowed down her cheeks, her small body shook, and she hugged her mother like a lifeline.

Kushina cuddled her in her arms and sat on the chair Mitsuko was sitting while the blond sat on her mothers’ lap. She rocked her a bit, “Shh, I’m here now. We’re together,” she whispered, and Mitsuko nodded, “I love you,” the redhead said, kissing her forehead.

“Love you too, Mommy,” the girl sobbed. Kushina looked at Minato and sighed.

When the girl calmed down, the Jinchuriki looked down at her, “Can you tell us what happen?”

Mitsuko sighed, “What do you want to know?” she asked and turned to the others, Kakashi looked solemn while Minato looked anxious. Itachi was just looking at her with confusion.

“How… how Kushina died?” Minato whispered. Mitsuko hated to move from her mother’s embrace, but she had to face her while telling her this.

The redhead got the message and went to sit back at her place, “A year after the Third Ninja war, on October 10th, Mom went into labor. The Yondaime Hokage assisted her with the seal. He was my father,” both her parents gasped. The two looked at each other and then at her, both wondering if they weren’t married in her time. Mitsuko smiled, “The Yondaime helped her retain the fox in while I was born, the third’s wife delivered me into this world. It should have been a normal day, but He decided to start his plans. Not a minute after I was born, he threatened them to kill me,” she said, and both parents’ growled.

She sighed, “…Congrats, Papa,” she said, grinning. “Your dream will come true… oh, Lord Hokage,” she teased, both Minato and Kushina blinked.

“What?” he asked, surprised.

“You’ll be named Yondaime Hokage,” she stated. “Anyway, that man killed the Third’s wife and took me hostage, you saved me but left mom’s seal open. You had to leave her if you didn’t want me dead… he put explosive tags on my blanket, so you had to leave Mom alone,” she told them, both shared a look that they agree they would have done that.

Mitsuko shook her head, “He tore Kyuubi from mom. She didn’t die after the removal like other hosts, but Dad saved you and brought you to me while he went and defended the village from the fox,” she said sadly. Minato hissed while Kushina looked down, “Mom only had minutes to live, but you had to face off the commander of the fox… You and the masked man fought a time-space battle, you won, but he escaped,” she whispered.

Minato frowned at this, “You then took Kyuubi where mom and I were. You put up a barrier to prevent others from helping, and Kyuubi from fleeing. Mom tried to seal the fox back in her and die with it, but you… refused,” she said, looking at her father. “You used the Shiki Fūjin to seal the Yin chakra in you while you fused two Shishō Fūin to create the Hakke no Fūin Shiki to seal the Yang chakra into me,” she whispered.

Kushina turned to Minato while he paled. Kushina glared at him with angry tears at the corner of her eyes, “But before you could do that, Kyuubi tried to kill me… y-you both j-jumped in-in to save me… you d-died protecting me,” she whimpered, trying to contain her tears. “Your love reached me… and I became the new Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi,” she said sadly. Kakashi looked at her wide-eyed, “Obito had died in my timeline… that’s why you changed,” she said, looking at the silver head.

She closed her eyes, “You became a great jonin. You worried more about protecting your teammates than regarding the rules; you became a pervert… you became my Sensei,” she smiled at him. The teen blinked, “You… never said anything about my parents, you never took care of me while I grew up… you knew who my father was, but you didn’t do anything for me…” she frowned sadly. “I had really needed you, but like the others, you never acknowledged me… you thought I was weak and useless,” she said, making two parents’ extremely angry.

The Hatake looked at her, horrified, “But I slowly changed your opinion on me, but not enough to be your favorite. He always was; you always like him best,” she sighed. “A ‘prodigy’ like yourself, but no one ever stopped to really look at me. I had skill; I could have surpassed the others quickly. If only someone would have taken the time to really look at me… I was Kyuubi to many, but never Naruto,” she sighed.

All of them blinked at the name, “Ha-ha… Uh… I… um, was a boy in my other life,” she confessed, blushing. Itachi and the others blinked at this, “But… I’m not Naruto, I would have never been him no matter what. Here, I am Mitsuko… I am a different person entirely. I have three nature chakras while Naruto has one,” she told them. She frowned, “I failed the academy test three times before I passed,” she said.

“Why? I can see that you should have passed without a problem,” Minato said, surprised.

Mitsuko sighed, “I had Kyuubi in me. The amount of chakra I had was entirely different than what I have now, but I still have a lot. I can make 500 Kage bunshins at the moment without a problem. Before, I was able to make 1000 easily,” she stated proudly. Everyone looked wide-eyed at her, and she grinned at her father, “I also manage to complete ‘that’ jutsu,” she said slyly. Minato blinked at this, “Rasengan is no longer an incomplete jutsu,” she stated proudly.

The Namikaze’s eyes widened, “Kakashi helped me with this,” she told them, the teen felt slightly relieved.

At least he had done _something_ for her, “What?” the blond asked skeptically.

“Yup! I named it Wind Release: Rasengan, but the real one is Rasenshuriken,” she declared, smirking.

The future Kage looked at her daughter in the eyes, “Show me,” he said.

“… Dad, I would need a huge training filed, I would need absolutely no one to be there. Only you and those that would like to watch; this jutsu is by far too powerful. The Kakashi in the future said it was an S-rank jutsu,” she informed gravely.

They gasped at this, “I defeated Kyuubi with it; just imagine the size of it! But Kyuubi was half his normal size…” she mumbled, unaware of the widening eyes. She shook her head, “But sadly, you won’t be able to use it, daddy,” she sighed.

“Why?” he asked, confused.

“Well, if you do use it… -the attack hits both the user and the enemy. That’s why Rasenshuriken is dangerous to use in normal circumstances… it creates millions of tiny charka needles that attack each cell of the body, kind of like poison; while this too, is inflicted on my own arm,” she said pouting.

Minato gasped, “And you still use it!” he asked incredulously. 

The girl nodded, “But only…” she stopped, shaking her head.

“Only?” Minato growled.

“We really need Ero-sennin to come,” she sighed.

“Huh? Who’s Ero-sannin?” he asked.

“Jiraiya-jiji!” she beamed, and Kushina and Minato started laughing. She giggled a bit, “I… I only use Rasenshuriken while in Sage mode,” she said and waited for them to react.

Kushina and the blond blinked, “Sage mode?” they asked in unison.

Mitsuko tilted her head, “… Yeah, you know, Jiraiya is the only Toad Sage beside me,” she said blankly.

Minato’s eyes widened, “ _That_ Sage mode!” he asked, the girl only nodded. “Show it to me,” he demanded.

Mitsuko blinked at her father a few times, then sighed. She nodded and closed her eyes, everyone blinked and wondered what she was doing, “Don’t touch me,” she said, opening an eye and then closing it.

Everyone watched interestedly. Itachi and Kakashi had no idea what ‘Sage mode’ was, but apparently, the adults did. They didn’t feel any change at all. Gasping lowly as a light orange color shaded the top of her eyelids when she opened her eyes, they were golden with horizontal pupils. The blond and redhead gasped louder, “No way,” he said.

She grinned at him, “It took me some time to re-master it, but I got it down a few days ago,” she said proudly. She blinked and frowned; “Hmm?” she got up and closed her eyes once more… She gasped and canceled Sage mode as quick as she could, “Well, it looks like we won’t need to call him,” she said.

“What?” they asked.

“Jiraiya-jiji’s on his way here,” she stated, not a minute later there was a knock at the door. Minato crooked a brow but went and answered the door.

The others waited for him to come back, Itachi looked at his friend, and she smiled, ‘Don’t worry’ she mouthed to him. The Uchiha relaxed and nodded, “-heard about your student,” Jiraiya said as he walked in, followed by his student.

“Huh?” Minato asked, confused, but the white-haired man was attacked by a little girl.

“Jiji!” she said, jumping to him. The Sannin caught her in his arms and hugged her while she held his red vest tightly.

Jiraiya chuckled and kissed her forehead, “Hey there, Mitsu’,” he said and then looked at Minato. “About Obito…” be began, making Minato ‘Oh’ed.

He smiled, “Don’t worry about him, he’s fine. Over at the hospital regaining his energy,” the blond said calmly.

“But… I heard… huh?”

“What did you hear?” the Namikaze asked, sitting down.

“That- oh?” he was about to sit as he noticed the two boys.

“Jiraiya-sama,” Kakashi said, nodding while Itachi nodded.

The Toad sage blinked, “Uh… you are…?” he asked, looking at the young boy.

“Uchiha Itachi,” he introduced softly, the blonde noticed that he was starting to get uncomfortable.

“Jiji,” the little girl who was still in his arms said, the man looked down.

“Hmm?” he asked.

“Down,” she commanded, blinking he but did as ordered.

Mitsuko walked back to her seat and moved closer to Itachi, who leaned over to her side. They arched a brow at the display, ‘what the?’ they wondered. Kushina, who had seen the undeveloped emotion of the boy smirked. “Anyway,” the little girl snapped, “Jiji, I need to sign the Toad contract,” she said lightly.

Jiraiya stared at her, blankly, “What?” he asked after Kushina finished serving some tea.

“… I need to sign the Toad contract. I don’t wanna cause trouble; plus, I need to show papa something,” she sighed and drank some tea.

Both toad summoners blinked, “Um, Jiraiya-sensei, just let her do it,” Minato said.

The older man looked at his student, wide-eyed, “Are you insane! I can’t let a four-year-old sign a contract!” he said, but the blonde sighed.

“I’m mentally 16!” she growled at him, all of them blinked.

“You died at 16!” Kushina asked.

“Yeah, said it before, didn’t I?” the blonde sighed. Mitsuko closed her eyes, a headache wanted to make itself know.

Minato sighed, “What?” Jiraiya asked, confused.

“Here, sign this, then I’ll tell you,” she said as a scroll puffed on top of her hand, she unrolled it, and the man looked down.

The pervert blinked at it, “What the?” he asked, looking at the complexity of the seal.

“Sensei, can you just sign it?” Minato asked the white-haired man, noticing the rest of their names in it.

“What’s this for?” he asked as he signed it, he didn’t really care, Minato’s name was in it so there should be no harm.

Mitsuko nodded and rolled the scroll close, and then it puffed away. She looked at Jiraiya, “I have memories of my other self who just happened to be from the future,” she said nonchalantly. All of them blinked, surprised.

“What!” Jiraiya asked.

“Jeez, I knew you were slow, but right now, your reactions are slower than usual,” she mumbled to herself, the corner of Itachi’s lips twitched. “Look, Ero-sannin, I don’t have all day. I once was a boy who happened to have been born a year from now. Both my parents died on that day. I lived a harsh life because I had been the Jinchuriki of Kyuubi; became a ninja and your student at age 13. Traveled around the world with you as you trained me to protect myself from a group of missing-nin and bring back my best friend. Sometimes your proofreader for those boring books of yours; your godson and also the teen that someone had to make a war just to get their hands on,” she said rather calmly and a bit amused.

All of them stared at her wide-eyed, “Toad summoner and new Sage,” she said in a matter of fact tone. “Now, can you please let me re-sign that contract? I need to contact some toads,” she said and sighed. This was getting a bit boring; she was getting tired of the same expression already.

Jiraiya opened his mouth, “W-what?” he asked in shock.

The girl hit her head on the table, and a growl escaped her throat, “Damn pervert! Just give me the contract!” she ordered, glaring at him. The white-haired man stared at her dumbfounded. Minato and Kushina were blinking while Kakashi was looking back and forth between them. The Uchiha was trying to hide his amused smirk while he looked away from her. The girl sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, “No wonder Baa-chan acted the way she did,” she said with a groan.

The big man blinked a few times and turned to his now amused student, “What is she talking about?” he asked, whipping the smirk from his lips.

“The future.” He sighed, “Just let her sign it,” he waved a hand at him.

Jiraiya looked at her and sighed, “If she gets killed, it’s not my fault,” he said and summoned a huge scroll. The blonde recognized it and got up; he rolled it open as she bit her thumb. The little girl knelt and started to write her name, _Uzumaki Mitsuko,_ and then printed her fingertips on the scroll.

Both toad summoners blinked at her actions, but they didn’t get to questioned her as she made some hand signs: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, and Ram. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” she said before slamming her hand down; a cloud of smoke filled the room. Both men look at her stunned, they heard a weird voice “Y!-Oh?” it said.

Mitsuko looked down and blinked as she saw a small tadpole that still had to develop the front legs; she gazed at it for a while. Jiraiya and Minato blinked then fell to the floor; everyone blinked while walking closer to them, “What is _that_?” Jiraiya asked, stunned.

Minato sighed, “You’re still too young for summoning,” he said, but the girl didn’t say a thing, she was too busy staring at the orange tadpole.

“You, Gamakichi?” Mitsuko asked softly.

The little tadpole blinked, “How do you know?” he asked, narrowing his eyes, but then he blinked.

He looked at her and then at his body, “What the hell! Why am I so damn small? What did you do?” he asked, now glaring at the girl and looking around until his eyes landed on the hermit, “Jiraiya?” he asked, astounded.

“You remember?” he heard a surprise, but a soft voice asked in front of him.

The small amphibian turned to look at her and blinked, “ _Naruto_? Why the hell are you doing in that henge?”

**Omake ~ Asking Daddy**

Mitsuko had been waiting for a week. She had thought she could wait, but she was an energetic girl and knew from experience that she could not wait for anything. Mitsuko knew that her other self was just as impatient as she was, so when her father walked through the doors after a mission, dirty and tired, she ran to him and hugged him. The man caught her without a problem, “Daddy! You’re home! Welcome back!” she greeted happily.

Minato smiled, “Hello, Mitsuko. It’s good to be back,” he hugged her tightly; man how had he missed his little girl. The girl giggled as she was put down, she ran to the kitchen where her mom was cheering, ‘Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!’ a few times. Kushina chuckled and greeter her husband with a kiss on the lips, “I’m home,” he told her softly.

“Welcome back, Hubby,” she grinned.

Minato smiled, “I’m home,” his eyes soft, just like his voice.

Mitsuko frowned, and when she opened her mouth, she made both her parents blink, “How does Hiraishin no Jutsu work?”

Minato frowned and looked at the redhead; she shrugged and went back to the kitchen to finish cooking. He sighed and tried to simply tell her how it worked step by step. She nodded to all of his pointers and grinned once he was done. “Why do you want to know how it works?” he had asked afterward.

The little girl smiled widely, “To learn it as soon as possible!” and then she skipped to the kitchen happily. Minato chuckled as he headed to the bathroom, he knew his wife had just started cooking, and he needed a well-deserved bath. Kids, he thought absent-mindedly.

In her next training lesson, Mitsuko had completed the technique; her father, still unaware of her achievement.


	9. 8: Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some answers?

The small amphibian turned to look at her and blinked, “Naruto? What the hell are you doing in that henge?” he asked, but the girl could only gap at him.

She closed her mouth and then grinned, “You remember! How? Why? And yes, but no; I’m not the ‘Naruto’ you remember,” she chirped.

Now everyone looked confused once more, Minato and Jiraiya looked at each other, “…B-but… you’re dead,” he realized as his strength left his legs.

“Gamakichi… what’s the last thing you remember?” she asked softly.

“You… that bastard stabbed you on the back and then took you away. That copy ninja tried to save you, but the traitor killed him,” he said and looked down.

Mitsuko gasped, shocked, “What else?” she asked, not caring the glances flying from her to the tadpole.

“Dad was fighting; you had summoned me to help save the Hyuuga girl, but she tried to go after you. She was killed along with Tsunade’s apprentice and… Gaara,” he said lowly.

The blonde fell to her knees, stunned, “N-no,” she said as tears ran down her face.

“He took a good portion of the enemy, but after he got to you… That freak with the mask killed him. One of our generals died and soon followed the most important. The Commander general… after Gaara died, things began to look bad for the shinobi,” he said.

The little girl was looking down, her eyes shut and baring her teeth. All of the others now looked stunned, another war? One they were losing? “But… when you died, you took that masked bastard’s key to fulfill his goal,” he told her softly.

“That still wasn’t enough!” she snarled, glaring at him. The killing intent even froze the Sannin and Future Yondaime, “Hinata-chan, Sakura-chan… Gaara died for me! All I could do then was make a deal with Kyuubi! They died only for me to let my life end!” she hissed and shook her head. “That bastard may have lost Kyuubi and my body, but if I don’t find a way to stop him before he strikes in this time, their sacrifice would have been in vain,” she told him. “I need you to begin your training with Pa and Ma, take Gamatatsu with you,” she told him.

“Huh? You want me to take that idiot with me! Are you serious?” he questioned.

“Yes… in fact, I’ll summon him right now,” she said and did the same hand signs as before. The small orange tadpole sighed as smoke appeared.

Everyone looked at the yellow tadpole smaller than Gamakichi, “Huh? Where am I? Oh, Gamakichi-nii-san,” the lazy voice of Gamatatsu said and looked around. “Can I have a snack?” he asked, raising his back paw, then blinked, “Huh? Why am I small?” he asked, and both the blonde and his brother blinked.

“You remember, too?” they inquired.

“Nii-san, you’re small, too!” he said and got hit on the head with the left leg of his brother.

“Shut up! I asked you a question,” he snapped.

The yellow tadpole whined, “The last thing I remember was talking to Dad about the chances of winning the war. General Kitsuchi had just gotten badly hurt,” he mumbled.

“WHAT!” they asked loudly.

“Yes~ that masked guy almost killed him,” he stated. “Can I have my snack now?” he asked, but the blonde was thinking hard.

She looked at the brighter brother and frowned, “What else happened after I, uh…died?” she probed urgently.

Jiraiya was looking at them confused and had a deep frown. Minato and Kushina were looking at her worriedly. Kakashi was trying to figure out what was going on, while Itachi was sitting next to her and observing her intently. The dried trail of tears still bugged him, but he knew this was serious, “That Crow user you wanted to capture had been fighting, but when he saw you, he just stopped. Even when his brother asked what was wrong, he didn’t respond. It was like he had frozen once he saw you in the creeper’s arms,” he sighed. “Then he seemed to snap out of the jutsu he was in and attacked him, but that stupid doctor dispelled his jutsu, and he was gone.”

The blonde blinked at this, “I-he what?” she asked, stunned.

“Snapped out of the manipulation and tried to save you,” Gamakichi told her.

Mitsuko smiled softly, “Did he now?” she said fondly.

The tadpole blinked at her, “Is that a good thing?” he asked, confused.

“It is,” she mumbled gently and then sobered, “what else?” she asked.

“Let see, oh! Soon after you died, the summoned ones stopped confused, some even joined our sides… it’s like the summoner was killed and the bounds that kept them from doing what they wanted, were cut off,” he said and then sighed.

“That’s about all I know, you were the last Toad summoner after all. We couldn’t stay there for much longer after you passed away… now what’s going on?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Minato and Jiraiya had gasped at that, “Wait! Mitsuko was the last Toad summoner? What happened to Minato and me?” the white-haired ninja asked.

“Both of you died,” Gamakichi stated, uncaring. The blonde hit her forehead.

“Gamakichi, do you think Gamabunta will remember if I summon him?” she asked. “I don’t want to repeat myself again,” she sighed.

The tadpoles looked at one another, “I don’t know, but we better try it,” he said, and both hopped on her shoulders.

“But can I have something to eat first?” Gamatatsu asked, making Mitsuko sigh tiredly.

“Mom, do we have any pocky?” she asked, standing up and smiling down at Itachi.

The redhead blinked, “Uh, yeah, I think we have,” she said and left to go look for them.

“Dad, can we go to the forest of death? That’s the only safe place I can summon Gamabunta without alarming anyone,” she said, looking up at him.

Minato blinked and considered it, “Alright, but everyone is coming,” he said, and she nodded.

“That’s fine, I’ll show you that there,” she smirked.

Kushina came in with the box of candy, the yellow tadpole instantly brightened up, “Candy!” he said.

The blonde and his brother sighed, “Why did you summon him again?” he asked, but the girl looked at him blankly.

-

Itachi and Mitsuko had been placed in the middle of the four ninjas as they went into the forest for safety. She looked around and was amazed by how it looked the same as the future one. Maybe things won’t change that much in the future, just like this forest.

Mitsuko skipped to a stop and nodded, “This is fine,” she said, but the adults were tense, looking around for any threats. “Oh, don’t worry,” she told them and bit her thumb as she stepped in front of them. She slammed her hand down, and a massive puff of smoke appeared, when it disappeared, there in the middle on the clearing stood the great Gamanbuta.

“Huh? Jiraiya? Minato? Why did you summon me in such a place?” he ignored the little girl.

The questioned men shook their heads, stunned, “We… we didn’t do it…” Jiraiya said after a while of his glaring.

“Daddy!” Gamatatsu cheered.

“Gamatatsu! Gamakichi! What are you doing here?” he asked and looked at the little girl who was still standing calmly, not a hair out of place or labored breathing.

How the hell is she still standing? The summoners asked themselves.

“Who are you?” he asked, lowering his head to look at her better.

“Uzumaki Mitsuko,” she said proudly, her blue eyes scanned his eyes to see if he had any idea of who she was or had been.

“What are you doing with my kids?” he asked, and she frowned.

“You don’t remember?” she asked, and he blinked.

“Remember what?” he asked.

“About Naruto!” Gamakichi said.

“Naruto? Who’s Naruto?” he asked, and the three kids looked at each other.

“Okay, so only you two remember me…. Why?” she asked.

Minato decided to come closer as well as everyone else. Itachi was frozen as well as Kakashi. They both knew summoning was hard, but for a four-year-old girl to summon something that big was insane and impossible. “Uh, Gamabunta, this is my daughter… and the one who summoned you…” he said and waited for what the other would say.

“BWA-HA-HA-HA! She summoned me? That’s a good one, Minato, now why did you summon me?” he asked, sighing.

Jiraiya frowned, “Jeez, at least he’s not threatening me to kill me this time,” they heard the girl whispered.

The man blinked and shrugged that thought, “Minato’s right. Here, see for yourself,” he said, opening the scroll and showing her name.

The toad looked at it with narrowed eyes, “You let a child get a hold of something like this?” he asked, glaring at the two. “Are you insane!” he questioned in a yell.

Mitsuko sighed, “Oii, Boss!” she called and looked deeply into his eyes, “I need you to ask, Ma and Pa, to train these two. I’ll need them for my Sage mode,” she told him with a smile.

Gamabunta and Jiraiya blinked, “A child like you? Jiraiya, what the hell have you been telling this girl,” he asked, but the man shook his head.

“I never motioned it to her,” he said. The girl snarled and sat down, crossed leg. Both tadpoles hopped off of her, and she closed her eyes and started to gather senjutsu chakra. Their eyes widened as her eyelids began to get an orange shade, “No way,” Jiraiya whispered while the big boss put his pipe down.

When she opened her eyes, she gazed up at him as Mitsuko stood, “If you think I will be unable to do something like this, then you are underestimating the former No. 1 candidate for the title for Rokudaime Hokage!” she yelled, throwing her arm to the side. “Before I came here, I was about to be named Hokage… so better watch your words. I’ve seen too many things in my life, not all of them good. I’ve seen family fight, friends and brothers kill each other; ninja become One! I will not tolerate something like this; this stubbornness you have. I will become what I want because I have the power to be so!” she stated.

Mitsuko then moved to the right side of the clearing leaving stunned animals and humans, “Dad, you helped me with this so much… Why… why did you create the Rasengan?” she asked, not facing him.

“Huh?” he asked dumbly.

“Why did you create the Rasengan?” she asked calmly.

“… I wanted to create something that would protect this village, something to protect this world. The Shape Manipulation; I wanted it to bring it to its maximum level… but you already knew this, so why are you asking me this?” he asked.

The young girl turned around and smiled at him, it was small and gentle, yet full of respect and appreciation. “Because-” she said raising her hand and chakra formed in her hand “-this technique-” the chakra started to take the shape of a sphere “-made me into the first Jinchuriki to ever be able to use the beast power at its maximum in human form,” she said, finishing the Rasengan and held it up.

Jiraiya and Gamabunta gapped, “Did you know that a Biju has to do the same process to create their greatest power?” she asked lightly. “I bet you didn’t. When I was training with my Jinchuriki-sensei, I showed him this while in human for with Kyuubi’s power,” she said and raised her hand high up in the air. “I saw the difference between the two, and then he asked me who taught me that. ‘Jiraiya-sensei, but the Yondaime, my father, was the one to create it,’ I told him. He had been so excited; he called me lucky even. But I knew that somehow, you had created this for me,” she whispered, filling the ball with nature chakra.

All of them gapped at the massive size of the Rasengan, “I learned the steps in three months in my timeline as Naruto, and mastered it within a week, back then I had been 12. Now, it only took me less than a day,” she said and decreased the size. Mitsuko made it as small as she could. “With Sage Mode, I was able to create it easier. Before, I needed a clone to help me, but now I can do it on my own hand,” she said, making the sphere normal in size. “And I still have to figure out how I’ll make the next step… nothing like the present, right?” she asked as the Rasengan dived itself into five small balls, and each moved to a fingertip.

They all watched her display in awe, with a blow, the spheres disappeared, and she made a clone. The girl nodded to herself and started to make the Rasengan, she made the Shape, while the clone put Nature manipulation into it. An intense screeching buzzed around to their ears, Mitsuko smiled as the clone puffed away and the Rasenshuriken was re-born.

Jiraiya and Minato fell on their knees while everyone else took a step back. Kushina had to help Itachi stay in place, “This is the complete Rasengan,” she said and turned around. Mitsuko made sure that no one was where she was going to throw it at. With a smirk, she set its course, “Rasenshuriken!” she said, shoving her hand forward, everyone watched amazed as the dense chakra was thrown.

Their eyes widened as the jutsu expanded and then multiplied its size; the wind blew their way, almost knocking them over. Kushina had to cover Itachi while kneeling down; Kakashi was crouching with one hand on the ground and the other half-covering his face, trying to stay put while the tadpoles braced themselves for the technique. The brothers were safely behind one of their father’s legs. Minato and Jiraiya covered their faces but watched the stunning technique die down.

Mitsuko panted and fell down, “Che,” she said as her Sage Mode came to an end, “I guess… I still need… to practice…” she panted.

“Mitsuko!” Minato screamed, running to her side.

“Don’t worry, even back then, I was only able to do two Rasenshuriken in Sage Mode. That I can even do it once right now is unexpected,” she said and smiled at him. “I hope this was what you wanted to achieve,” she said and closed her eyes.

The blond looked down at her, worried; he held her gently and got up, “Na-Mitsuko,” Gamakichi said from Jiraiya’s side.

“Hmm?” she asked, looking at him.

“… If you’re already this powerful, we’ll work hard to reach your level!” he said determinedly.

His father looked down at him, stunned, “As long as I get my snack, I’ll help,” Gamatatsu said, but she knew he was ready to help her.

She smiled gently at them, “Thank you,” she whispered and looked down at Itachi, “I’ll help you, too,” she assured him.

The Uchiha blinked but nodded. Mitsuko sighed, “Home?” she asked, making her father laugh.

“Home,” he nodded.

She smiled, “I’ll see you guys later,” she told the tadpoles; they nodded and puffed away.

“Chia-¬… Mitsuko,” Gamabunta nodded before following his kids’ home.

She stared at the empty space wide-eyed, “D-did he just said what I think he said?” she asked the equally stunned toad summoners.

“Uh, yeah,” Minato told her.

The blonde blinked, who knew she would get his respect in this world much, much faster than in her last? She shook her head and looked back to where she had thrown the jutsu, “It still needs work,” she mumbled to herself.

Minato stopped and looked down at her, and then at the destroyed trees, “I think it has enough power,” he told her.

The little girl looked at him funny, “Not the same as it did when I mastered it completely,” she sighed tiredly.

Jiraiya, Kakashi, Kushina, Itachi and Minato looked stunned at her, “What’s that supposed to mean?” her mother asked.

“It’s not fast or big enough. The rotation still needs work, and I need to add a bit of more power into it,” Mitsuko clarified, looking up at the sky.

“So? How did I die?” Jiraiya asked suddenly, the little girl froze in her father's arms. The blond felt how she went from calm to tense in a second.

The white-haired man seemed to notice too, but he was curious as to how he would die. Mitsuko closed her eyes, “I went looking for my friend’s brother while you went on a mission to gather information on the organization that’s after the Bijus. I didn’t know, you never told me anything. When I got back… Gamabunta and Gamakichi were waiting outside the Hokage Tower for me. ‘Kichi knew about you, but Gamabunta stopped whatever he was going to tell me,” she said softly.

Minato looked down at her worriedly. Kushina walked over to him with Itachi in her arms, “Baa-chan, Fukasaku-san, and another toad; the one that had held the key to the seal along with my team were there. That old toad started telling me about ‘The child of prophecy,’ and that he’s one of the two Great Sages of Mount Myōboku, and that he was your master at Sage techniques…then he just dropped the bomb on me. ‘Little Jiraiya died in battle’… he-he,” she closed her eyes but snapped them opened as the memory of everyone observing her appeared.

Itachi looked at her concerned, she was starting to shake, “I-I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it… you… I wanted you to see me become Hokage. I wanted you to always watch me… I wanted you to finally see me shine and not see the un-cool side of me. Me, the one that always needed you to protect me… I just wanted you to see me become great,” she whispered as tears broke free.

Minato held her tightly while Jiraiya looked at her, stunned, “You were my family, the grandfather I always wished for… later I found out you were my godfather. You have no idea how happy and devastated I was. No one even thought of how I felt, they only looked for me to get that code you had left… nothing more. No one wanted to find me and let that hurt free. I hated it. I hated it so much… that loneliness that fell upon my heart once more,” she said weakly.

Jiraiya’s hand twitched, “I hid in my apartment for a while. No one bothered me… one night I had gone to buy a double popsicle,” she smiled sadly. “We always shared one. Then, Iruka-sensei came to me. He told me how you used to praise me, how you were so proud of me and… thought of me as your grandson,” she mumbled. “How you always believed in me, that one day I would be a great Hokage… that you were always watching,” she choked out and reached for him. “I loved you so much… I wanted you to stay with me longer. To watch me grow into the great man you and my parents wanted,” she cried.

The man reached for her and hugged her close, “I was afraid. I didn’t know what I was going to do next. Even if you left to gather information, I knew that you were there. I could just reach you with a toad, and you would come…. But… b-but you l-left!” she sobbed. “I hated that man, I wanted to kill him myself and avenge your death,” she choked out. “I missed you,” she whispered softly. “And…I needed you…” she buried her head on the crook of his neck. “Please stay,” she begged, holding on to his shirt tightly.

The sannin looked at Minato, and Kushina shocked, then he closed his eyes resting his chin over her head, “I will,” he promised, and she cried her heart out.

Minato looked at her sadly, and his eyes searched his wife’s. She turned to look at him and smiled sadly, “We need to stay, too,” she whispered to him.

“We do,” he agreed and looked at the boy in her arms.

Itachi’s orbs looked at the crying girl; he wanted her to stop. He wanted her to smile and talk in her carefree matter like usual. He didn’t like her crying at all, it was not typical for her, but he knew she needed this. He sighed and looked down; he wished he could start to train more. The boy wanted to be powerful to protect her and her heart. Itachi wanted to do as much as he could to stop her tears from ever falling again.

Determined eyes looked at her face; he would do that. Itachi would make sure she never cried again if he could stop it. This was a promise to himself.

Minato narrowed his eyes a bit; he then noticed the sad look on Kakashi’s eye. He was looking at her concerned when the little girl calmed down he spoke, “Mitsuko?” he asked her softly.

Red-rimmed eyes looked at him, “Hmm?” she asked.

“What… was I a good teacher for you?” he asked, but was afraid to hear the answer.

The blonde looked at him for a while, “No,” she told him after a minute of debate with herself.

Kakashi tensed and looked down dejected, Minato felt an urge to kill him but blinked at what she said next, “You were always too carefree. You were always late whenever we met up for a mission. The Teme was the one you taught, not me,” she said, resting her head on Jiraiya’s shoulder. “I always tried for you to look at me, but you never did. You thought I was reckless and an idiot; that I was weak,” she told him.

The boy’s eye widened by the second, “You knew since day one who I was. The son of your beloved sensei, yet you did nothing for me,” she whispered and sighed. “When I fought with him, you stopped us. You knew that the Chidori and Rasengan would be pretty nasty if they coiled together. Yet, you only looked at your precious prodigy,” she told him. “Always, you were always late for everything, and the one thing you had to be on time; you were late again,” she sighed.

Her blue eyes were blank, “I never hated you, and I never will. I was just disappointed. The Teme had left, and you took me in.” she said softly. “Then I left with Jiji. When I came back, we got together once more. You had us do a survival test, and we beat you. Our first mission as a team was to save Gaara from that organization, we fail. We found him too late. Gaara was dead,” she told him, closing her eyes.

Her orbs opened and looked at him strangely, “I asked why, why him? Was he not enough? You tried to calm me down, but it didn’t really work. You used the new power of your new eye but fail somewhat. I lost control back then, I went up to two tails, but Jiji had given you a seal to suppress the power of the Kyuubi. A medic that had gone with us brought Gaara back, and then we went back to Konoha,” she told him and frowned.

“Team Kakashi didn’t last long with you as leader either,” she told him, and he frowned. “An ANBU especially was chosen to protect and look out for me was made leader while you recovered. An ANBU Root spy was made part of our team, too,” she mused. “Danzo was pissed at this. He had hoped to kill the Teme and find everything about me while on the job, yet he never thought I would bring his spy’s emotions back,” she told them. “Anyway, when you recovered, my special training began. You started to teach me something, but you only guided me through the process to make the Rasenshuriken,” she sighed.

By now, Kakashi was feeling like crap, while two pissed off parents were looking at him from time to time, “Sure, we spent more time together and all, but you didn’t really try and get close to me. Even after he was gone, I was more of Ero-sannin’s student than yours… Then, the whole Ero-jiji’s death came up; again, you did nothing to really cheer me up. I left to train on Mount Myōboku, and when I came back, you were dead,” she told him.

The teen gasped while the others looked at her, stunned, “I fought against that man and its human puppets. I won against all of them, and I went to search for the real body,” she stated to them. “I didn’t fight him, only talked to him. I opened his eyes, and with his last powers, he revived everyone, including you,” she declared. “Soon after that, it was the Kage summit, and the news about the Teme’s head had been requested by one of them, came to us,” she told him.

“I went after them with you and the other Capitan by my side. I couldn’t do much with that man, but we stayed after to wait. That man, the leader, and killer of my parents came to us and told us about the Teme’s family clan and why his brother did what he did,” she whispered softly. “We decided to keep it to ourselves, but soon our teammate, the only girl, came to us. She confessed her love for me, but she was lying. She loved the Teme with her life, she lied to me so she could kill him herself and so that I would stop chasing after him,” she told them shrugging.

“The Root spy told us this, but I had a panic attack and passed out. When I was up, you were gone,” she told him in an accusing matter, making him shrink a bit. “I followed after you; when I found you, you two were trying to fight him,” she sighed. “I stopped you, and I fought him. I saw what would happen if we had been serious about it… ‘When you and I fight, we will both die,’ I assured him,” they gasped once more. “I was the only one able to help him then,” she murmured, looking up at the trees and watched the light wash over them.

The girl looked at him, “No matter how much you loved him, you couldn’t reach him. You knew nothing about real loneliness… you didn’t know the real meaning of hate like we did,” she whispered, and her eyes softened. “It’s not because you were a bad teacher, it was just that you didn’t understand the pain we had completely,” she assured him. “I was confident in this: ‘If you attack Konoha, I will have to fight you. So save up your hatred and take it out on me. I’m the only one who can take it. It’s the only thing I can do… I will shoulder your hatred and die with you’… those were the words I told him,” she stated coolly.

All of them gasped, “I was willing to die with him. I knew his pain as he knew mine. We were brothers of pain and loneliness… I was the light while he was the darkness,” she sighed. “You were only there to set the pieces down, nothing more. We were out of your hands when the Third died,” she told him softly. “Either way! You wouldn’t have been able to teach me unless you put down your book and taken me seriously. I learn with my body, not my mind; that’s why I mastered Sage mode so quick,” she told him with a smile.

Kakashi looked wide-eyed at her, “I considered you a good teacher, just not my teacher. I was too like Obito back then, so I guess that it must have been painful teaching someone who had died for you,” she told him. Mitsuko looked at her hand, “The Uzumaki clan is not an ordinary clan… related to the Senju and more powerful than the Uchiha,” she said and looked at Itachi with a small smile. “Seems like my rival will be you,” and it soon became a grin. “We will grow together. You with your eyes and intelligence, while I with my body and spirit,” she stated proudly.

The young boy blinked and smiled at the challenge, “I’ll still be stronger than you,” he told her, and she snorted.

“I don’t think so! I have so much better chakra control then back then!” she pointed out and smirked at her parents, “So? When will I start my sealing training?” she asked, but suddenly everything went black, ‘Damn… emotional rollercoaster…’ she thought as darkness conquered her mind.

“Mitsuko!” everyone called out to her. Jiraiya smiled down at her, he looked up at the worried faces of her parents.

“Don’t worry, she just fell asleep,” Jiraiya told them with a smile.

“She’s going to give me gray hair before my thirties,” Minato grumbled and looked at Kakashi. “Don’t worry about what she said. You have plenty of time to make it up to her,” he reassured with a small grin.

Kakashi looked at him wide-eyed and then looked at Kushina who nodded, he dropped his head and bowed, “Thank you… I promise to take care of her better,” he told them before straightening up and looking at the girl.


	10. 9: Boundaries or not, you are my friend! Pt. 1

Itachi sighed relieved after hearing that, he smiled at the sleeping girl in the man’s arms and wondered.

She said that her Clan was more powerful than his, right? But how so? And she was related to the Senju Clan?

He looked at the woman carrying him and sighed. Life was looking up to him; he now had someone to see as a Mother and an extraordinary friend. He knew that he should appreciate his Mom, but she just wasn’t as warm as Kushina.

His attention turned back to the blonde and frowned. If Mitsuko really came from the future and was treated that badly, he would seek that she was respected. Minato moved over to them and was about to take her from the Sannin arms, but her little fist was holding on to the man stubbornly, “Ha-ha, she doesn’t want to let go,” he mused while Minato glared.

“Well, considering her confession a few minutes ago, I think it’s reasonable,” he sulked and started to walk over to one of the exits.

The Uchiha blinked and frowned, maybe he won’t have to do much. Kushina started moving along with Kakashi, “Do you want me to take you home?” Itachi turned to look at the redhead.

“I don’t think Mitsuko will wake up soon,” Itachi told her and then nodded.

The woman smiled, “Alright,” she said, and they were out a few minutes later.

Minato turned to them, “I’ll take Itachi-kun home, you guys take Mitsu’ back,” she told them, and they nodded. The Bloody Habanero headed to the Uchiha Compound while the others looked at each other.

“We need to give the Hokage our report,” Minato stated.

Both his teacher and student looked at him, the boy sighed and started to head that way, the blond turned to the white-haired man and crooked a brow at the grin he wore, “What?” he asked, but the Sannin shook his head.

“Nothing, I’ll go with you since I can’t go into your house uninvited,” he told the other.

“Like you haven’t before,” Minato stated. Jiraiya chuckled a bit.

“True,” he said, leading the way.

The Yellow Flash looked at him with narrowed eyes but sighed and followed after him. Whatever it was, he would find out about it sooner or later.

-

Kushina walked closer to the Compound, and she smiled, “Itachi-kun?” she asked, the boy looked at her.

“Yes, Kushina-san?” he asked, the redhead had told him to call her Kushina, but he refused.

“Would you like to get stronger?” she probed, the boy blinked surprised but nodded none the less. The Uzumaki smiled, “Do you know how you can do it?” she asked softly.

“By training?” he asked, confused.

The redhead laughed a bit, “Yes, but do you know why you want to become strong?” she asked.

“To protect Mitsuko,” he replied calmly.

Kushina’s eyes widened and looked at his obsidian orbs with her violet ones, “And your family, your friends… all of your precious people,” she added with a soft smile.

Itachi thought about it and then nodded to her, “Yes,” he said, and the woman sighed.

“How about I help Mitsu’ and you on your Water Jutsus and Minato, or I help you with your Firebase chakra?” she asked, his eyes lit up and nodded.

“I would like that,” he told her, and she smiled.

“Good! I’ll talk to your Mom once she gets back, okay?” she asked, and the boy’s eyes hardened.

“Alright,” he said quietly. The young Uchiha looked at the entrance of his compound and sighed, “I can go from here, Mitsuko needs you more,” he told her.

Kushina stopped at the small gates and sighed, “Alright,” she said, setting him on the ground. “Just know that if you need something, anything, come to us,” she told him, patting his head. “Mitsu’ cares about you, she wants to help,” she whispered to him.

His eyes widened, and then they softened, “Hn, thank you,” he mumbled and turned around.

Kushina watched him go, she sighed and scratched her head, “I really need to talk with Mikoto,” she told herself and left to prepare dinner.

-

Sarutobi looked at him for a long time. Jiraiya was trying to hide his snicker while Kakashi just waited for the Hokage to speak. Minato shifted a bit, he had been standing in front of the desk for about five minutes in silence, and he was starting to feel uncomfortable.

The leader of the village looked at the sleeping body of the little girl and then back at her father, “Minato,” he finally said. The blonde stood straightened and looked at him seriously, “I would like to congratulate you,” he said, smiling.

Kakashi and Minato blinked, “Congratulate me? For what?” he asked and looked at his teacher.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll be known not only as ‘Konoha's Yellow Flash,’ but also as Yondaime Hokage, unofficially at least,” he said, smiling.

Minato gasped, “Huh?” he asked and looked at the sleeping figure of his daughter.

“Now Minato, that’s not a proper answer,” Sarutobi said and smiled. “The counseling and I had been debating for a while when I should give you my position. And last mission made them decide that now, was that time,” he told him and got up from his seat. “I already knew that you would be Yondaime, and I wanted to give you this position for a while now, but they wouldn’t let me,” he told him and turned around to face his beloved city.

“They said something about needing you out there, but with this mission you just completed, there is no more reason why you shouldn’t be Hokage. The war will soon be over thanks to this, and there is no problem not having you in the front line,” he said, turning around to face the still shocked blond. The old man smiled kindly, “It’s been your dream since you were young to become Hokage, and now, here is your chance… do you accept?” he asked, taking off his hat and offering it to him.

Minato’s eyes widened and looked at the hat for a long moment, then he looked up at the man, “It’ll be an honor,” he replied, grasping the hat from him.

The third smiled, “That’s what I thought!” he said and sat down, “Most of my stuff is already at my house, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to work tomorrow,” he said and then smirked. “You’re in for it now, Minato,” he told him and chuckled.

Jiraiya was looking proudly at him while Kakashi looked at his sensei with satisfaction. “Paperwork?” he asked, and the Sandaime nodded.

“You’ll love it,” he said, and the blond sighed. The Third then looked at Kakashi and smiled, “Obito should be out by next week. You’ll have a break until he wakes up and is checked out,” he told him, and the teen nodded. The Hokage turned back to the blond, “And don’t worry, I’ll be assisting you until things settle down in a few months,” he told him.

Mitsuko flinched in her sleep, “No,” she mumbled and held on to the Sannin tighter. Minato and the others turned to look at her, “Ku,” she murmured again and frown.

Minato and Jiraiya looked at each other, “Ku?” he inquired, and she started to whine.

Sarutobi looked at her, “Take her home,” he told them, an apparent dismissal they nodded.

“Kakashi, do you want to eat with us?” the blond asked.

“Sure,” he said.

After their final good-bye, the three males headed to the big house to have dinner.

When they got home, the delicious smell of the redhead’s cooking had invaded the whole house. The little girl seemed to be waking up, but she sighed and nuzzled her face on the Sage’s chest. Minato sighed and smiled gently, “Let me take her to her room,” he told his sensei lowly.

“If you can,” the other replied, trying to make her let go of his vest.

Kushina poked her head out and smiled, “Hey, what took you so long?” she asked, now coming out fully to the hall.

Kakashi looked between them, and then at Mitsuko. He walked over to Jiraiya once he had his vest free from the little fist, “I’ll take her, sensei, you tell her,” Kakashi told them, raising his arms to take the blonde. Minato sighed, and the white hair ninja took it as his way of telling him could do it.

“Careful,” he said before handing the small body to the teen.

The silver head blinked; she was so light. He had never really taken any particular attention to her. Taking Mitsuko, he could tell how much she looked like Kushina and Minato. It was like she was the perfect mixture of them, only much cuter. He sighed and headed to the second floor; “Tell me what?” he heard Kushina asked before he was on the second level of the house.

The teen headed to the door closest to the stairs, a red spiral with ‘Mitsu!’ hanged from the door, and he opened it. He crooked a brow when he did; scrolls of different jutsus and weapons were lying on the floor. He shook his head but stopped as a special Kunai was on top of a small desk, but he frowned. The seal didn’t look like Minato’s, it was just a bit different, but not by much. The boy looked at it for a while longer and set the blonde on the messy bed and took off her sandals and then covered her, “Na…ga,” she mumbled and tossed to her side with a deep frown. The boy blinked confused and looked back at the Kunai, he quickly grabbed it and headed down.

When the boy came into the kitchen, a very excited redhead was humming and cooking, his lips twitched and then looked at Minato, “Sensei?” he asked.

“Hmm?” the man asked, turning away from his conversation with Jiraiya.

“Have you made a new seal for your Hiraishin?” he asked.

“No, why?” he asked, and then the three seal masters looked at him.

“Found this in Mitsu’s room,” he told them, holding a special Kunai.

The handle of the kunai was the same as Minato’s, except that the seal had something new. In the very last part of the ink, there was a small coma with a lovely curve pointing north. The second coma was at the very top pointing south, and in the middle of the writing, there were super-small comas pointing west and east. They all narrowed their eyes, “What is that?” Minato asked, grabbing the weapon and scrutinizing it.

The man now had his ninja's face. His narrowed eyes were sharp and solemn; the way he gazed at the seal was stunningly calculative. Kushina looked at it and then gasped, “How in the world did she do _that?_ ” she asked.

The males turned their eyes to her, “What is it?” Minato asked her.

“A sensing seal added to your Hiraishin, but that’s not all. Those curvy tails from the comas are very sensitive to the slightest chakra signature or feeling from the one its closest. Those comas are also able to remember the chakra signature of an individual, and pass it directly to the sealer,” she explained.

“It’s a tracking, sensing, and time-space seal,” she stated and groaned. “That’s one of the highest seals I’ve seen since my Great-Grandfather… and that was ages ago!” she told them. “I never really got to meet him, but he was the leader of Uzushiogakure. My grandmother always told me stories about him, but that was before she died in the Second Great War,” she sighed. And then shook her head, “And she’s only been reading,” she mused. Minato looked up at her, “I wonder what she will accomplish when we teach her,” she wondered and left them to finish dinner.

The three males looked at each other and then at the seal, “Damn,” Jiraiya said after a long silence, “Just damn,” he repeated. The other two agreed with him and nodded, “She’ll surpass all of us,” he stated.

A few minutes later, Kushina came in with the food. He frowned, “When do you think she’ll wake up?” he asked.

“I don’t know, she had so many emotions going on,” the redhead said.

“She’ll wake up tomorrow morning,” Jiraiya stated as he ate.

“You sure are confident,” Minato stated.

“Well, of course! Just who are we talking about?” he grinned goofily.

Kakashi snorted, “She’s too stubborn to stay down for long,” he commented while eating the fantastic food the Uzumaki cooked.

The girls’ parents laughed, “She is,” Minato agreed.

“I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t wake up by noon,” Kushina said, and they began to talk lightly.

-

Itachi walked in into the house, he heard someone asking for him, demanding really. He frowned, “Where is he?” he recognized the voice.

“I told you, with his friend,” his godmother said calmly.

“Mom,” he greeted her from the archway to the sitting room.

“Itachi-kun!” she rushed to him and checked if he was okay, “How are you? Are you hurt? Did anything happen?”

He gave a faint sigh and nodded, “I’m fine,” he told her.

Mikoto nodded, “Where were you?” she asked –demanded- holding his face in her hands.

“With my friend,” he replied calmly.

“Who is your friend?” she asked.

“A girl-” he was cut off by his mother.

“A _girl_? If your father finds out about this, you’ll be in trouble!” she chastised him.

“But she’s not like the othe-” he wanted to scream.

“Not like the others? At least not now, but just wait longer,” she told him and got up. “Get your stuff, we’re going home,” she ordered.

Itachi looked at her for a long moment, Mikoto felt uneasy by the cold eyes he had, but let out her breath as he turned around and went to his room. The woman turned around to see Uruchi frowning at her, “Why did you do that?” she asked calmly.

“He needs to learn that a civilian girl will do anything to just be his ‘friend,’” Mikoto told her and nodded. “Thanks for taking care of him,” and headed to the front door.

The woman sighed and followed after her; she would wait for her godson and say good-bye. Little Itachi came down with an emotionless face, and she frowned deeply, she hadn’t seen that face for a week, but now, it seemed like it would stick around for a while. The boy looked up and nodded, Uruchi knelt to hug him, “Take care, and stick with Mitsu-chan,” she whispered.

The heir relaxed a bit and nodded, “Thank you for letting me stay here,” he told her and then walked up to his mother.

“Let’s go, Itachi-kun,” she told him, opening the door. Mikoto walked slowly, she felt a bit bad for telling him how his ‘friend’ would turn out. “Itachi-kun, I don’t want you to get hurt, so please stay away from that girl,” she told him, looking at him from the corner of her eye; the boy frowned.

“…I understand,” Itachi sighed.

The mother smiled, “You can have friends in the clan, just don’t get too distracted. You’re the heir of the Uchiha after all,” she told him and moved her eyes back to the road.

The Uchiha boy glared, _‘They are not what I can call ‘friends,’ they are not like Mitsuko,’_ he thought dryly. He was starting to get tired of being told who he could talk to and who he couldn’t; there weren’t many he could play with. He sighed, tomorrow he would try to go over to train with his blonde friend. A small smile tried to come over his lips at the thought of disobeying his mother and running off to see Mitsuko.

When they got home, he wondered for a second what he should do for the rest of the day but dismissed the thought and headed to his room to think over what happened today. He was about to climb the stairs when his mother stopped him, “Itachi-kun?” she asked softly. The boy turned to her with a calm face, “Do you want something to eat?” she asked a bit uneasy.

“No, thanks,” he replied before, hurrying up the stairs.

The jonin sighed tiredly, she was sad by the relationship between them, but she couldn’t afford to spoil him. With that depressing thought, she went to the bathroom and prepared a bath for herself.

Itachi closed the door behind him; he looked around with a frown. The boy sighed and went to his bed, he climbed it and took off his Kunai holder and placed it on the nightstand, and then he flopped back and looked at his ceiling. _Stay away from that girl_ , his mother’s voice repeated, but he tried to ignore it—the thought of not being able to see his friend bother him a lot. Itachi had never really thought of wanting to be selfish, but just this once he wanted to.

The boy got up and pulled the special Kunai from the holder and looked at it. Mitsuko had asked for it the day after their attack, and she had given it to him after drawing something in the handle. He noticed the added comas and frowned, what are those? He shook his head and got up, leaving the Kunai on his bed and looking through the scrolls he had.

Mitsuko had three affinities, Earth, Water, and Wind, while he only had a bit of Fire and mostly nothing of Water. Itachi wasn’t happy about it but guessed that it was more than enough for the moment; after all, he was only four years old. He smiled at the scroll the blonde had given him, “ _Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique_ ,” he read calmly. Itachi smiled softly; he would need to thank her tomorrow for this. He sat down on his chair and read through the scroll.

It seemed relatively easy, but he knew that it would take practice to fully master it and use it entirely to his advantage. He had to muse; Mitsuko and he completed each other. They could use some combination, the needed ones if they ever fought together, and they would most likely win.

When he was ready to take a break, the boy went down to the kitchen to see his mother cooking, “Oh, Itachi-kun! I was going to call you soon, have a sit,” she smiled at him. Itachi sighed at the forced smile his mother had but did as told. When Mikoto came with his food, he noticed that it was a light meal, “So, what did you do while I was gone?” the woman asked, sitting down.

“Training and playing with my friend,” he told her truthfully.

“Itachi-kun,” she whispered warningly, but he ignored her. Mikoto looked at him for a second, but then started to eat, “I completed my mission, now it will be the last one I do,” she told him.

“Why?” he asked, not looking at her.

“It takes too much time, I want to spend that time with you,” she expressed softly.

The boy looked up and nodded, “Hn,” he hummed and went back to eating. _‘I miss Kushina-san’s cooking,’_ he thought absently. For a reason, he felt something was missing other than the usual.

The boy sighed softly but kept eating, “How’s your tainting?” she asked, trying to see how her son was doing.

“Good,” he answered passively.

“I-I see, that’s good to hear. Your father will be proud,” she replied, looking down at her food. Itachi gazed at his mother from the corner of his eyes and wished she hadn’t said that. He knew what that really meant but ignored it as much as he could.

Mikoto didn’t say anything more after that, she knew her son well enough to know when he needed to be left alone, and right now, that was it. She watched him eat, if he wasn’t so small, she would say that he was 8… twice his age. It was just the way he acted around her and Fugaku; it was guarded, almost like they would hurt him. She frowned and noticed as Itachi got up and took his dish to the sink, “Good night,” he said before leaving.

The jonin sighed. Mikoto got up and took her own dishes to the sink and started to wash them, maybe… yeah, that might work. She would talk to Fugaku once he got back. With a smile, she hummed as she moved around the kitchen.

The young Uchiha brushed his teeth and went back to studying the scroll. He had memorized most of the ones given to him by his father. They were only information on math, and history of the Uchiha, and just a tiny bit of genjutsu and taijutsu. Maybe his father wasn’t sure if he should give him some ninjutsu to practice; after all, he had taken away the scroll for his _Great Fireball._ He had memorized it and practiced it as much as he could without help.

Until Mitsuko, that was.

He kept reading until he was tired enough to go to bed. He changed and picked the Kunai up; he smiled and put it back on its holder then went to bed.

-.-

When Mitsuko woke up, it was already morning. She groaned and looked around; with a sigh, she got up and noticed that she was still in her clothes from the day before. With a frown, she went to get some new clothes and headed to the bathroom.

When she came out, she was squeaky clean. The clothes she had were long black socks, orange short-shorts and a white t-shirt with a red spiral on the front. Her jacket was in her room, but she wouldn’t need it unless she went outside, which she would have to after breakfast. She skipped down the stairs and stopped at the entrance of the kitchen/dining room, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Kushina, and Minato were sitting calmly at the table.

She blinked twice and memories of the day before rushed back to her, she cursed under her breath and looked to the side before walking in, “Morning,” she greeted and waited for someone to say something as she sat.

“Mitsuko,” Minato greeted cheerfully.

The girl was now fully seated and smiled at her father, “Papa,” she greeted back. “So, what are we eating?” she asked, looking around.

Jiraiya was looking at her with a frown. Mitsuko blinked, surprised, “I win! Hand over the money,” Kushina cheered.

Minato sighed, and Kakashi crooked a brow. Mitsuko blinked once more and looked between the two, “Che, why did you have to open your big mouth?” the sannin asked, looking at his student while looking for his wallet.

“You were the one that was wondering, I only asked, and you guys made a bet,” he replied passively.

“Too bad you had your timing wrong, Jiraiya,” Kushina grinned. Kakashi was laughing softly, and the blonde blinked, yet _again_.

She looked at her mother and then at her godfather, “Um, what?” she asked.

“We made a bet to see at what time you would wake up, I said 8 and Jiraiya said 9… it’s 8:20.” Kushina told her, getting up after getting her money, “Breakfast will be ready soon,” she said before going to the kitchen.

“So you guys bet on your family’s wellbeing?” she asked passively.

All of them looked at her, surprised, “Huh?” Jiraiya was the first to ask.

Mitsuko did the only thing she could, she laughed, “Oh, your faces are hilarious!” she looked at her father’s stunned face and cracked up.

“That wasn’t funny,” the man told her.

“Yup and that bet wasn’t either,” she sighed and looked around. “So,” she began and smiled at them, “even though I have memories from the future, don’t treat me differently. Remember, I had grown up without a family back then,” she told them and rested her arms over the table, she leaned her cheeks on her arms and saw them blinked.

They looked at each other and nodded, “Alright… and…?” Minato asked; the blonde crooked a brow.

“Hmm?” she asked, her father’s eyes were a bit nervous, but other than that, they had excitement meaning only one thing. “Well, can I call you Dad even after I become a ninja?” she asked with a grin, all of the males blinked surprised. “Cuz I never heard Azuma call the Third, ‘Dad,’” she clarified, but the shock was still there. “Oh, come on! It’s not that surprising. The war is almost over, and if I remember correctly from those stupid books in the academy, you had become Hokage around this time,” she told him.

Minato sighed and nodded, “I guess I couldn’t have surprised you that much, huh?” he asked with a small smile.

“Nope, but I was wondering. Just when do you start?” she asked, hoping it wouldn't be any time soon.

“Today,” he told her.

Well, that just messed thing us for her, “And when are you going to train me? Fuinjutsu training, remember?” she asked, straightening up, the blond blinked.

“Oh yeah,” he mumbled and grinned sheepishly.

The little girl groaned, “I don’t see how much more you actually need to learn. You upgraded my seal without too much trouble,” he told her, showing her the Kunai from last night.

“It’s because I already know how that seal works. I need to be able to create my own seal that I will need in the future,” Mitsuko sighed. “I guess Mom will have to do for now,” she sighed disappointedly.

“Sorry, Mitsu’,” he replied with a sad smile.

The blonde looked at him for a second, “It’s okay, you’re the Yondaime after all,” she mumbled looking away with a small blush, Jiraiya and her dad laughed while Kakashi observed.

“Mitsuko, would you like visit Obito with me?” he asked.

The girl’s eyes lit up, “Of course!” she cheered.

Minato’s serious face came back, “By the way, do you know how Obito was saved?” he questioned her.

She blinked and sighed, “I… might have had something to do with it?” she asked, looking at her hands.

The room felt a bit colder, and she dared glance up from under her bangs, “You followed us?” he asked.

She shook her head, “No,” she said.

The Yellow flash narrowed his eyes, “Then what did you do?” he asked.

“I… I placed that seal on Obi-nii’s goggles,” she sighed.

Minato and the others blinked, “When?” he asked.

“A week before you guys were assigned to the mission,” she told him, her voice passive.

“How did you save him?” Minato asked; Kakashi was looking at her while Jiraiya observed this time around.

She sighed, “After you left, on the second night, I was playing around with the element cards. I was wondering if I had another nature chakra, but it would either split in two or get wet. But then it turned to dust…” she explained, and they nodded. Jiraiya was stunned to hear this but hid it well. She bit her lip and continued, “The next day I sent my clones to learn the basic chakra control for Doton, and soon followed the Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique and the Earth Release: Earth Shore Return.”

Kakashi’s mouth went dry, and Minato nodded, “I learned them quite easily, the latter one helped me defend myself on the kidnapping attempted, but anyway. The day you split, I felt it. I knew what would happen next, and I just couldn’t allow it. So, when Obito’s chakra flared up as he awakened his Sharingan, I got ready and waited for something. When I felt both Kakashi’s and Obito’s chakra move, I decided to wait a bit more just to be safe, so they wouldn’t see me,” she replied.

She smiled, “Then, I used the Hiraishin no Jutsu and went to that cave. I stayed out for good measurements and used the Underground Projection Fish Technique to push Obi-nii out of the way. I made sure that he wouldn’t be crush to the point to be life-threatening, so when the cave was about to collapse, I went up, covered him with my Doton Chakra, and sunk to the ground and to safe land. All I had to do next was take him to the hospital, which is obvious I did,” she finished just as Kushina placed the food down. “Well, time to eat!” she cheered, giving her thanks, then she dug in.

All of them watched her silently, “Just remember, I don’t want to be treated like a freaking genius… I want to be normal for once,” she said, before grabbing another bite. Kushina and Minato looked at each other; they smiled and started to eat while the other two looked at her in approval. When they finished eating, Mitsuko went to her room to get her jacket, orange, and black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have developed a family tree for Minato because reasons which it's one of the reasons as to this being an AR!


	11. 10: Boundaries or not, you are my friend! Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuko shows her loyalty! And more problems over the horizon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand I've caught up with the story here! Now it's at par with FF.net

_“Just remember, I don’t want to be treated like a freaking genius… I want to be normal for once,” she said before grabbing another bite. Kushina and Minato looked at each other, they smiled and started to eat while the other two looked at her in approval. When they finished eating, Mitsuko went to her room to get her jacket, orange, and black._

Kushina and Minato cleaned up while Kakashi went to get his stuff. He had stayed over due to his exhaustion and was now ready to go home to change before visiting Obito. Jiraiya was looking at the new seal for the Hiraishin, “You should take some time after dinner for Mitsuko,” Kushina commented, the blond looked at her and sighed.

“I should, shouldn’t I?” Minato smiled a bit.

“Hmm-hmm,” she replied and moved to the kitchen with the dishes, her husband right behind her, “even though she won’t show it, she’s upset,” the redhead informed. 

The Namikaze sighed, “I know, she really wanted me to teach her,” he admitted rinsing the plates.

“And even though Itachi-kun will be her friend, she still needs her father,” Kushina smiled.

“Ugh, you had to remind me of him, didn’t you?” he asked, and she laughed.

“Why, of course! You didn’t like it,” she said. “The way Itachi-kun looks at her,” she clarified with a sigh. “But he means no harm. Yesterday, when I asked him why he wanted to get stronger, he told me it was to protect Mitsuko,” Kushina mentioned softly. 

Minato frowned, “What about Mikoto? Shouldn’t he be at the age where he loves his mother?” he asked, but Kushina shook her head.

“Mikoto can’t do that. She may be gentle, but she doesn’t know how to treat Itachi without mistreating the ‘heir’ part in him. She knows that he’ll need to lock his emotions one day, so she’s afraid to love and spoil him. Mitsuko sees that’s how he’s been treated, and she wishes to help him,” she told him softly.

The blond sighed, “If that’s so, I just hope she or Fugaku don’t interfere in their friendship; I’ll worry later if it turns into something else,” he gave up. 

Kushina grinned, “I knew you’ll see it my way,” she cheered smugly.

The Sannin came in with an awed expression, “Sensei?” Minato asked.

“I’ve inspected the seal, and you’ll never believe it,” he said.

“What?” Kushina asked, wiping her hands from the water.

“This may be a tracking, sensing, and time-space seal, but it can also summon,” he said, stunned.

“It can what?” the couple asked in unison. 

The toad sannin nodded, “Yup, the way they connect, if you see underneath the underneath, you can see the seal to summon,” he gave them the weapon. 

Mitsuko came running down the stairs, “‘Shi-nii! Did you take the Kunai that was on my desk?” she asked, alarmed.

“Uh, it was the one of this mor-” he didn’t get to finish as the blonde rushed past him; he followed her and saw her rush to the kitchen. Minato was holding the Kunai when his daughter came in and looked at them, her large orbs landed on the weapon he was holding, and she pointed a finger.

“There it is!” she said and walked up to him and took it. Minato blinked while the others watched silently, “Thought I lost it for a second,” she mumbled and looked at them. “What?” she asked innocently.

“Uh, how does that seal work?” Kushina asked.

“Oh, this?” she asked, holding the Kunai up, they nodded. She grinned, “It’s a double Hiraishin!” she said like it was that obvious. 

Minato blinked, confused, “Double Hiraishin?” he asked her.

“Yup!” she grinned and turned around, but stopped, “I didn’t answer your question… well, the user can go to the seal, or summon the person close to the seal,” she told them and then left to put it back where it should be. 

The three seal masters were shocked, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Minato asked, shaking his head.

“Like how you never thought of a clone helping you to complete the Rasengan?” Kushina asked, turning back to the awaiting dishes.

“Gah! She’s going to wound my pride soon,” he sighed and turned back to help Kushina. Jiraiya only laughed, “Shut up, sensei. She’s already beaten you with Sage mode,” he reminded the sannin, he stopped laughing and glared.

“And you with the Rasenshuriken and Hiraishin!” he shot back. 

The two males started in a glaring match but were snapped by Mitsuko’s cheerful voice, “We’re leaving!” she called.

“Be careful!” Kushina yelled back, Minato sighed and turned his attention fully on rinsing the dishes. Jiraiya smirked and went to see what he could get his hands on. 

-

Mitsuko skipped down the road with the Hatake, he was following her calmly as he watched her. He was starting to realize how stupid he had been for ignoring her for so long. He shook his head and smiled with his eye when she turned to look at him, “Can you take me to Itachi’s house after this?” she asked, smiling. 

The teen blinked and thought about it, then he sighed, “Alright,” he told her, and she grinned.

“Would you like to help us train?” she asked, and again, he thought about it. 

The jonin sighed, “Sure,” he agreed, and the girl laughed happily, she turned back and ran as the entrance of the hospital came into view. “Mitsu, slow down! Obito will still be there,” he told her, and she stopped.

“Jeez, I’m just happy,” she pouted, and he had to look away, not even he was able to resist that face. Mitsuko giggled and started to walk once more when they entered the building, they went straight to Obito’s room.

Kakashi opened the door for her, she went in following after he closed it. The boy moved closer to see that the boy was awake, “Obito,” he greeted.

“Kakashi!” then he looked at the girl. “Mitsuko!” he asked, surprised. 

Mitsuko grinned and rubbed the back of her neck, nervously, “Hey, Obi-nii,” she greeted. 

The Uchiha sighed, “I guess I have to say thanks,” he told her, and she waved her hand.

“Was nothing,” she grinned, but he sighed.

The teen sat up and grinned at his friend, “How’s your left eye?” 

“Fine,” Kakashi said, touching it. “Thank you,” he told the Uchiha softly. 

Obito blinked surprised, his eye widened, “F-for what?” he asked, blushing.

“This eye, Obito. You completed my justu,” he smiled at the raven.

“Huh?” he asked, confused.

“Remember what sensei said, that I had the power and speed down, but not the ability to react to the opponent?” he asked, the boy nodded. “Your Sharingan solved that problem, I could see,” he told him as he sat on the chair; Mitsuko was already up on the bed. 

Obito gapped at him, “It…it was nothing,” he said and looked at the little girl, she smiled.

“How are you feeling?” she asked softly.

“Fine!” he grinned.

The blonde’s face lit up, “Great! Itachi’s been here, too,” she told him.

“Itachi?” he asked, confused. She nodded, “As in Uchiha Itachi?” he asked, and again, the blonde nodded. “You know him?” he asked, and this time Mitsuko glared. 

“Yes,” she replied blankly.

“Oh,” was all Obito could say. 

Mitsuko rolled her eyes and sighed, “I had to drag him here after training, but he came. Said he was your cousin,” she said softly, the boy looked away. “Alright,” she told him softly. 

Kakashi blinked, “Your part of the main family?” he asked incredulously.

“…Yeah,” Obito replied blankly. “You’re probably wondering how I’m such a loser,” he sighed and leaned back on the bed. 

The Hatake looked at him, but Mitsuko shook her head, “Why do boys have to be so thickheaded?” she asked. Both teens looked at her, “You are not a loser,” she smiled, then her face turned serious. “Not many would give up their lives to save a comrade, not many would give a Clan’s eye to a companion, not many would do what you did, Obi-nii,” she told him and shrugged. “I don’t see why you’re a loser. Sure, you need to work some more to come to ‘Shi-nii’s level, but he needs to work more to care for others like you do. You’re Obito, so what if you have the Uchiha name? A name is not what identifies a ninja or a man. It’s the heart,” she told him, pointing her thumb at her chest. 

Right eyes widened, “If you call that a loser, then you’re more of a fool than anything else,” she told him with eyes much like her fathers. Her orbs softened and then smiled, “So, will you still call yourself a loser?” she asked and waited for his answer.

“…No,” Obito replied, and she grinned. 

“That’s what I thought! Now get better, so you and ‘Shi-nii can help Itachi and me train,” she giggled and looked out the window. 

Mitsuko felt each of their eye bore into the back of her head, but she ignored it. She didn’t know why she felt like saying something like that, but Mitsuko was glad they understood the meaning she tried to get across. A few hours later, the nurse went in and told them that the Uchiha needed his rest and that they could come back later. Kakashi, while disappointed, did as told. Mitsuko and Obito whined about the unfairness and that he was okay. The nurse ended up having to escort the blonde to the lobby and telling her not to come back before the afternoon. 

Kakashi had laughed at her, but she had glared and gone to the Uchiha compound, followed by him. He followed her until they were on the main house of the district; she knocked on the door and waited patiently as a pretty lady opened the door. Mitsuko could see the resemblance of her and Sasuke. Mitsuko wanted to laugh at the thought of the Teme looking like her. Itachi didn’t look too much, but there were some similarities.

The Uchiha smiled, “Can I help you?” Mikoto inquired, the blonde smiled.

“Is Itachi home?” she asked sweetly. ‘Of course, he is,’ she thought as she felt the Kunai in the house with Itachi’s charka next to it.

“…He is, and who are you?” Mikoto asked, looking at the two.

“His friends, I’m Mitsuko, and this is Kakashi,” the little girl said, smiling. 

Mikoto frowned and was about to open her mouth to ask them kindly to leave, but was stopped by a light voice, “Mitsuko?” her son asked. 

The woman turned around to see Itachi in the hall looking surprised, “Itachi!” the Uzumaki said and looked at his mother.

“Itachi-kun,” she said softly, but he got the meaning. 

Itachi blinked and saw as his friend frowned. He walked over, ignoring his mother’s warning eyes, “How did you know I was here?” he asked, and she only crooked a brow, he stared at her, and she sighed.

“What did I give you?” she asked.

“Oh,” was all the Uchiha said. 

Kakashi watched the woman glanced at the boy warningly but had to wonder why. The girl smiled at them, “Will you be able to come over? ‘Shi-nii can help us,” she told him. 

The boy was about to reply, but the woman cut him off. “I’m sorry, but he’ll be busy,” Mikoto said calmly, Itachi blinked and sighed.

Mitsuko looked at her, and Kakashi crooked a brow, “Doing what?” she asked inoffensively. 

Mikoto blinked, surprised, “Clan duties,” she told her, and the blonde tilted her head to the side.

“Like what?” she asked innocently.

The woman stiffened a bit, but laughed, “His father will be training him today,” she smiled.

“I thought he was on a mission,” Mitsuko replied, the raven woman smiled.

“He’ll be coming home today,” she said softly.

“But I remember Itachi saying that he won’t be here until later this week,” she commented, narrowing her eyes. 

The Uchiha woman sighed, “He’ll be training with his cousin,” she told her.

“Which one?” she asked, the ninja/housewife wanted to glare.

“Obito,” Mikoto said in a clipped tone of voice.

Mitsuko’s eyes narrowed further, “He’s in the hospital,” she told her, voice losing her calm and sweet tone.

“…Is he?” the older Uchiha asked.

“Been there for a few days now,” she told her, nodding.

“How do you know?” Mikoto asked suspiciously.

“‘Shi-nii is his teammate,” she told her, shrugging her shoulders. Mikoto’s dark eyes looked at the silver head boy, she had noticed his hitai-ite, but to think he’s Obito’s teammate? She was starting to get impatient with the girl; she just wanted her gone and for her to leave her son alone. 

Itachi was watching the conversation curiously. “Mitsuko, was it?” his mother asked. Itachi knew what she was going to say, and he looked at her wide-eyed. The blonde nodded, “Look, I don’t want you near my son anytime soon. If you think that just by being nice to him, you will become an Uchiha like your parents have told you, then you are wrong. Stay away from Itachi-kun, understand?” she asked politely. 

Kakashi choked a bit at the woman, how dare she insult his sensei’s daughter and the pure-hearted girl? He was about to speak up, but the girl beat him to it, “Hmm, I understand,” she said, smiling. Itachi gasped, and the Hatake blinked, Mikoto smiled, glad that the girl understood, “You want to protect your precious Uchiha ‘heir.’ You want your heir to focus only on the clan and nothing more. You want your heir to follow your orders like a good heir would,” she glared at the woman. 

Mikoto blinked surprised, Itachi stared, and Kakashi’s lips twitched, “You want your heir to be the slave he’s supposed to be as the future clan head. Look, Itachi is Itachi. He will be the heir when the time is right, not before. He’s only four, he’s only a kid! Are you so willing to let him mature so fast and just make an heir for the future? Do you not care to raise a son? Do you wish for Itachi to become an emotionless man that will stop at nothing? Are you really okay with that?” she asked, fisting her hands. 

Itachi looked at her wide-eyed, “Uchiha Itachi will be the heir for the Uchiha clan, but Itachi is just a boy right now. He will learn later, what he needs right now is love, affection, and friends! Tell me one name, one name of one of his friends. Tell me what color he likes, what he dislikes, what he wants, what he loves, what he needs… tell me,” she said in a low voice. 

Mikoto stood frozen, she opened her mouth to replied, but nothing came out. 

The blonde nodded, “Do you even know Itachi?” she asked, and that did it. Mikoto looked at her son, who was looking at her passively. “Ask him. Ask him what he wants right now,” Mitsuko commanded, crossing her arms over her chest. 

The woman looked at her and glared, “Shut up. You don’t know him at all,” she hissed.

“I know him better than you, and that’s for sure,” Mitsuko told her blankly. Kakashi watched passively, but he had observed her body language like a hawk.

Itachi’s mother had no idea who he was, she thought she knew him, but she understood nothing about him. Mikoto looked at Itachi again, “Itachi-kun, please go to your room,” she ordered softly, but he didn’t. 

He stood there looking at her passively, he looked at Mitsuko and back at his mother, “No,” he told her. 

Mitsuko smile, but the woman frowned, “Go to your room, now,” she said in a cold voice. 

The boy looked at her for a second in surprise, but shook his head, “No, I want to stay,” he told her; she was mad, but she needed to stay in control.

“Don’t worry, nothing will happen, just go,” she smiled, but Itachi sighed.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I’m telling you to do so,” she told him, but he looked at Mitsuko. Mikoto's patience was at her limit, and she sighed, irritated, “Itachi-kun, go, now,” she ordered. Itachi stubbornly shook his head. 

Her eyes widened, and she couldn’t stand it, in a second, her hand was coming down hard. Itachi gasped, Kakashi’s eye widened before glaring heatedly; Mikoto gasped and took a step back. The small body of the blonde fell to the floor, and Itachi rushed to her along with Kakashi. Mitsuko sighed and got up, “Mitsuko!” she heard her friend say, and Kakashi hissed.

The girl shook her head as she rubbed her cheek, “To think that you would hit your son just because he doesn’t feel like leaving his friends,” she stated sadly. 

Kakashi moved her hand to see what the Uchiha did; her cheek was red but fading slowly. Itachi just stared at her and glared, “Do you always have to move in the way?” he asked angrily. 

The girl only smiled at him, then she turned to face the woman, “So this is your answer to my questions?” she asked putting her hands in her pockets, the woman glared at her and pointed at the door.

“Get out,” she hissed.

“Mikoto?” a new voice asked. 

All of them turned to the door to see a redhead woman, the Uchiha blinked and looked at the others, she smiled at her, “Kushina, how’ve you been?” she questioned. The infamous Habanero’s eyes were only for the blonde girl. 

She looked at her and glared, “Mitsuko, come here,” she said softly, the blonde sighed but did as told. Kakashi didn’t move in case the Uchiha’s mother decided to do something, “What happened to your cheek?” Kushina asked her daughter once she was standing in front of her; she knelt to see her better. 

The blonde rubbed the back of her neck and looked at the ground, “Nothing,” she mumbled.

“Mitsuko,” the redhead said slowly, the blonde tensed and looked at her in the eyes. The usual warm royal purple orbs were stony, “What happened?” Kushina asked. Mitsuko knew she could not lie; she was never able to lie to those eyes.

“I jumped in as Mikoto-san was about to hit Itachi,” she whispered. 

The elder Uzumaki got up and motioned Kakashi to come over, “Itachi-kun, come here,” she told him softly. 

Mikoto watched as he did calmly, “Take them home,” Kushina told Kakashi; he nodded once and walked out, followed by the two kids.

“Kushina? What are you doing?” Mikoto asked as she started to walk over to the entrance. 

A pale arm stopped her, “Don’t,” she ordered, her violet eyes burning with calm anger, the raven had never seen her like that. “Let them go, Itachi-kun needs to relax,” she told her passively. When the Jinchuriki was sure they were far enough, and that her friend would not go after them, she let her arm drop. She looked at the woman for a long second, “Mikoto, may I ask why you tried to hit your son?” she asked passively.

“It…It was an accident. That girl got me angry, saying that I don’t know my own son, that I only look at him as the Uchiha heir,” she explained. Even though Mikoto was three years her senior, she felt inferior compare to the Uzumaki. 

Kushina nodded, “If Mitsuko had the need to tell you that, then she must have had a reason,” she told her.

The Uchiha looked up and glared, “Why are you defending that girl?” she demanded.

Mikoto knew that was the wrong thing to say as the redhead’s aura shifted, “Because that girl, as you so kindly put it, is my daughter,” she hissed, her royal purple orbs froze her in her spot. There was something in her eyes that promised her death if she dared threaten her child. 

The color on Mikoto’s face drained, “W-what?” she asked.

“She’s my daughter, Uzumaki Mitsuko,” she informed. “I came here to ask you to let her train with him. She needs a friend her age, and so does Itachi-kun. I know Fugaku, and you both dislike him playing with kids outside the clan, but I’ve never seen him play with kids inside this clan. Heck, I’ve never seen him play at all! Last week when I saw Mitsuko bring him home, I was stunned. She talked about training with him and being his friend,” Kushina elaborated. 

Mikoto gulped, “I’d never seen her so excited, and your son was acting his age for once. I must say that I was shocked,” she told her, crossing her arms over her chest, much like the blonde had done before. 

Mikoto looked down, “Was he really?” she asked softly.

“Yes, he was,” Kushina stated, “I was planning on helping them both, and it seems that Kakashi will, too. If you’re worried about his training, don’t be,” she told her softly. 

The Uchiha looked up, “But Fugaku won’t accept it,” she sighed.

“Will he not? We’re not sure about that, are we?” she asked. The brunette shook her head, “And we both know that he respects my way of thinking, right?” she pushed.

Mikoto nodded, “Alright, I’ll drop Itachi-kun’s clothes later,” she told her.

Kushina turned around but stopped before crossing the door. “Oh,” she turned around with a soft smile, “next time you hit my child, whether an accident or not, you’ll answer to me,” she promised, that smile never faded, but her eyes said it all. 

Dark flames, full of promise and protectiveness that only appear when someone threatens her family, lit her eyes. Mikoto had indeed, never seen them so powerful and raw with the truth. And with that, the host left the manor of the Uchiha clan. The active ninja looked around her empty house and sighed, she closed the door and search for something to do. 

Kushina was angry, she had never expected for the Uchiha to try and hit Itachi. But most of all, she never expected for Mitsuko to understand Mikoto’s unknown feelings so well. She stomped through the village streets until she got home. The kids were in the living room, Kakashi looking at her daughter’s cheek, “Mitsuko,” she said, all of them looked up surprised.

“Hmm?” she asked calmly.

“What were you doing at Itachi-kun’s house?” she asked. 

Mitsuko looked at the boy and sighed, “I was wondering why Itachi hadn’t left, and why he wasn’t with her aunt, so I went to find out,” she told her with a smile. 

Itachi blinked and sighed. The redhead frowned, “Why did you jump in when Mikoto was about to hit Itachi-kun?” she asked.

The blonde’s face fell, “I couldn’t let her hit him. It’s enough she doesn’t really understand Itachi,” she said, looking away, “I don’t want him to get hurt,” she whispered. 

Itachi’s eyes widened, “I wouldn’t have,” he snapped, but the blonde looked at him sadly.

“Yes, you would have. I don’t like that, I know well enough what it means to not be acknowledged, and it hurts,” Mitsuko voiced gently. 

The Uchiha frowned, “Hn,” he said and looked away.

“A-ah, don’t do that, ‘Tachi,” she said, walking over to him. His eyes widened, and looked at her in disbelief, “I know you’re stubborn, but don’t hide your hurt from me. I’m your friend, and I want to help as much as I can,” she told him, pouting. 

The boy tensed, seeing her lovely blue eyes sadden, and her unhappy face. The heir sighed, “Fine,” he mumbled, and she smiled.

“Good! Now how about we train a bit?” she asked happily. 

Kushina smiled and shook her head, “Eat lunch first,” she told them, moving to the kitchen. 

Kakashi smiled at the blonde from his spot on the couch, “Ah,” he said and got up. Both heir and heiress looked at him, “I’m going home, but I’ll be back after lunch,” he told them, eye-smiling. 

Mitsuko nodded and glared when he petted her head, “Fine,” she stuck out her tongue at him before he disappeared from view. 

Itachi smiled, “Let’s help,” he suggested, the girl nodded, and both went to the kitchen.

“Mom, ‘Shi-nii left, but he’ll be back after lunch,” she stated, washing her hands. 

Kushina looked down at her, “Is that so? And what are you two doing?” she asked.

Itachi smiled, and the blonde crooked a brow, “Helping, what else?” she asked, laughing. 

Kushina snorted and went back to work, “I have everything set, but want to deliver this to your father?” she asked, holding a bento up. 

Mitsuko’s eyes brighten, and she nodded, “Itachi, let’s go!” she said, taking hold of her father’s lunch. The boy shook his head but followed after her. The vessel smiled softly at the kids and went back to cutting the cabbage. 

The blonde skipped down the road, heading to the Hokage tower, “Where is he?” Itachi asked, walking calmly next to her.

“The Hokage’s office,” she told him with a smile. The boy nodded, and they started to talk about what they were going to practice today. 

Mitsuko told him that Kakashi might be able to help her with her earth manipulation if Kushina couldn’t. Her mom would help them both with water manipulation for sure, though. They talked about simple stuff as they walked down the main street to the tower when they walked in, the ninja looked at them surprised, but other than that, let them roam freely. Itachi blinked at that, “Why are they letting us walk around like this?” he asked.

The little girl giggled, “Well, they know me very well here. And I doubt they think we are planning something with a bento box,” she told him. 

Itachi shook his head and followed her through the halls and stairs of the building. The little girl waved at the ANBU standing on either side of the door, and one of them opened the door for them. Mitsuko thanked them with her sunny smile and walked in, when the door closed, she rushed to her father sitting behind the desk, “Daddy!” she said with the lunch box over her head. Itachi stood there looking at the blond wide-eyed.

Sarutobi noticed him and smiled, “Mitsuko, Itachi-kun,” he greeted. 

Mitsuko and Minato turn to look at him, and both grinned. The little boy blinked at the same gesture, “Minato-san, Hokage-sama,” he nodded. Walking in to sit on the couch –something he wouldn’t have done a week ago- and watched the blondes interact. 

Minato looked down at his daughter sitting on his lap, “What are you doing here, Mitsu?” he asked, she waved the bento carefully.

“Mommy asked me to bring you this!” she told him, handing it to him. 

The blond blinked and grabbed it, “Really? Where’s Kakashi?” he inquired.

“He went home. He said he would come back, but he needs to rest,” Mitsuko told him cutely. “And Mommy wanted us out of the house so she could cook peacefully,” she looked at Itachi and smiled. 

The blond followed her gaze and nodded, “Are you training after lunch?” Minato asked her.

“Of course!” she told him and hopped off his lap, he laughed as she ran to the Third with raised arms.

“Jiji!” she said as he picked her up. Itachi crooked a brow, and Hiruzen walked over and sat on the couch.

“How was yesterday?” he asked her.

“Good! ‘Shi-nii and Papa found Obi-nii sleeping at the hospital, so everything is good,” she smiled and looked at her friend. “Right, Itachi?” she asked with sparkling eyes. 

The three were looking at him, “Yeah,” he said quietly. Sarutobi nodded, and the little girl hopped off his lap, she turned to them and was about to say something when the door slammed open. The two ANBUs walked in after the man, he was glaring at the third and the blond. Sarutobi got up “Orochimaru, what are you doing here?” he asked calmly. Minato straightened up and set his lunch on the desk. Mitsuko froze wide-eyed at the man before her. 

The two ANBU quickly apologized, “Sorry, Hokage-sama, Minato-sama” they urged, Minato waved a hand at them with a calm smile.

“Don’t worry about it, go back to your positions,” he told them softly. The two nodded and bowed, they closed the door behind them. 

The Snake Sannin glared at him, “Already acting like Hokage,” he spat. Itachi’s eyes widened and looked at the Namikaze; Sarutobi sighed, and Mitsuko tensed even more. 

“Orochimaru, if that’s why you came here, I already told you before,” the Third began, but the pale man glared.

“Shut up! I should be the one sitting on that chair, not him,” he hissed. 

Minato frowned and intertwined his hands in front of him. His blue eyes sharp and piercing at the man, “If Sandaime-sama didn’t choose you as his successor, it must have something to do with the way you view this position,” he stated calmly. The golden eyes of the snake widened, “And your feeling to this village,” he enlightened.

“Quiet, I am more capable of being Hokage than a young ninja who thinks he’s good enough to be named Yondaime Hokage… but that title belongs to me,” he said as calmly as he could manage.

“Orochimaru, I have already named Minato Hokage, the counseling has already agreed,” the third stated and looked at the children. 

Minato did the same, he looked at the shocked and confused face of Itachi and then at the tense body of his daughter. He looked at the Sannin with narrowed eyes, “Come back another day. It’s clear that you are too angry to have a civilized conversation,” Minato told him. The older ninja glared at him, he looked at Mitsuko and froze. Heated blue orbs full of anger and determination looked right back at him. 

His blood ran cold as she gazed at him with such power. If he didn’t know any better, she seemed to know all his dirty little secrets. He looked away, ‘She has good eyes,’ he thought smugly, and then his eyes landed on the Uchiha. The boy looked at him, confused. A spark of interest lit in his mind as he recognized the boy and wanted to smirk, ‘Uchiha Itachi… it’s a pleasure to meet you,’ he purred in his mind. 

Minato narrowed his eyes as he watched the pale man; he stared at his daughter and the Uchiha heir. He saw the surprise and want in those golden orbs of his and felt the need to get both kids at his side, “Orochimaru-san, come back another day,” he repeated, this time an order. 

The Sannin snapped his eyes to him and scowled before turning around and leaving, slamming the door as he went. Mitsuko stared wide-eyed at the door; her blood ran heated with anger. Her mind went from scenario after scenario to see what she would do about him.

Just how had she forgotten about that snake?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything from the manga until chapter 597 is in par with mine –except for Itachi-sama and his actions when he came back!


	12. 11: More Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsu takes notice of something within her, and a plotting snake in on the loose!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where things start to really deviate from cannon! I hope everyone finds it interesting as to where I take it from here. I literally had this chapter done for the past 8 years but was unwilling to put it out because I didn't like how it was. That and chapter 12 was halfway written and wasn't working with me. 
> 
> That was my writer's block right there. 
> 
> But now, like I've said before! I got my plot, my outline, and all I have to do is write! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Just how had she forgotten about that snake? After all, he put her through in her last life; she should have been keeping a closer eye on him since day one she remembered. The blonde turned around with a grave face, Minato hadn’t seen many times but would need to get used to quickly. He sighed as he looked at her like any other shinobi, “What is it?” he asked in a calm voice. Sarutobi was shocked, and Itachi froze with her form.

The Uchiha knew that stand; tense shoulders, straight back, legs straight and close together fisted hands, and finally, her tensed _hair_. He slowly got up and walked up to her. In a second, she had his hand in hers, “Itachi needs to stay with us until Fugaku gets back,” she spoke in a deadly serious voice, something she got from him. Minato blinked, surprised, and looked at her before looking at the stunned boy.

Sarutobi blinked back his accumulated shock and sat down, “Why?” Minato asked her, narrowing his eyes a bit. Mitsuko stared at her father long and hard, he thought a bit and then, “Oh,” Minato looked at the Sandaime. The two kids followed his gaze, and the almost retire Hokage looked at them; the girl sighed and bit her lip.

“He… should not be trusted,” she said quietly, Minato blinked confused as well as the others.

“Who?” he inquired.

“Orochimaru,” she said, looking down.

Hiruzen laughed, “Come on, Mitsuko. He might have scared you, but he’s a Konoha shinobi,” he soothed her. He might not have noticed, but her hair tensed more; her father’s eyes were wide.

“We’ll talk about this at home,” he said at last.

The blonde looked up at her father, “And Itachi?” she asked.

“I’ll tell Kushina to talk to Mikoto,” he said, the little girl sighed relieved.

“Alright,” she cheered, beaming at the Uchiha.

Itachi looked at her, confused, but felt that he knew what was wrong here. He had gotten a bad feeling with the man, and he did not like it a bit. She grabbed Itachi’s hand and moved towards the door, "Bye-bye, daddy, jiji." Mitsuko smiled over her shoulder and left. Itachi gave a short goodbye as he was dragged out of the office by his friend. Minato laughed while the third looked confused after them.

The Uchiha was a bit confused as the blonde started to grip his hand tighter, he narrowed his eyes and stopped when they got to a lone street. Mitsuko followed his halt, but didn't turn to look at him, "Mitsuko" he said softly. "Do you know who that was?" he asked her, tugging her hand to tell her to look at him. The blonde lowered her head and squeezed his hand; the boy’s blank façade was pulled out and moved in front of her. Mitsuko saw his feet stop in front of her, she let go of his hand and snaked her arms around his neck.

Itachi blinked as the sudden hug she was giving him, and wrapped his arms around her waist while furring his brows, "I won't let him near you..." she whispered lowly, too faintly for him to be sure she said it. He could only give her a bit of comfort as she held on to him for life; all this confused him more so than before. He blinked when the girl pulled away and grinned at him, "Let's go, mom probably has set everything for us," she told him and started to run.

The little boy blinked once more and sighed, he rushed after her. He smiled as her laughter filled his ears with her sweet melody, as they got to the house, the blonde slowed down. She turned to him with a warm smile, her soft hair waved behind her, and her eyes almost glowing, "Come on, Itachi," she said with a kind and gentle voice. His heart stopped before it speeded away, he sighed and rushed past her with a smirk. Mitsuko blinked, "Hey!" she yelled after him.

The Uchiha laughed, surprising the blonde, leaving her gapping. She never would have thought for it to be so carefree, so cheerful. The little girl smiled and closed her eyes, _'I promise you, Orochimaru will never lay a finger on you or Sasuke,'_ she thought. Snapping her eyes open with a shine of unwavering determination, a sly grin broke onto her lips; she jumped up to a rooftop and jumped away. She soon passed Itachi, and in a few more seconds, she was at the front entrance of her house.

She smirked at the shocked face of the Uchiha, "What?” she asked blankly, he glared at her as she opened the front door.

"You used the rooftops," he stated.

"Did I?" she asked with a playful tone. The boy glared at her back, "Let's race after we graduate from the academy. Fair and square," she told him with a happy smile.

The Uchiha grinned, "You really want to lose?" he asked, closing the door behind him and following after her.

"Psh, yeah, right! It would still be a hundred years too early to beat me," she stated.

Kushina looked at the kids, "Then you're going to be too old to race me," he said in a matter of fact tone.

"You wish that were the case, remember I still have 16 years of experience," she grinned smugly at him.

"Yeah, you're old," he said lightly.

The blonde glared, "I'm four! My mind is the mature one!" she huffed.

"Yet you act like a four-year-old," Itachi smirked at her.

"And you act like a stuck up, forty-year-old man," she told him. "God! And you're not even seventeen!" she raised her arms in the air, defeated.

The Uchiha blinked, confused, "I acted like a 40-year-old, stuck up man when I was seventeen?" he asked.

"...No, but close to it," she told him quietly. "You... hid your emotions to an extreme... I always thought you were a tool for others to use... we... never really got to sit and have a good long talk. The one civilized conversation we had... it was, something," she said and looked up at the ceiling. "I wish I could have been there as you grew up, to have been your friend... and..." she closed her lips, _'and save you,'_ she thought, closing her eyes, remembering the last time she had seen him alive.

Itachi furrowed his brows in confusion, "Help you be yourself!" she smiled at him. Kushina looked at her daughter, worried, she had never seen her so emotional and unable to voice her feeling before. She was always so cheerful and unstoppable after she opened her mouth to say something. But now she had almost seemed at a loss of words.

"Can you tell me?" he asked. Mitsuko looked at him, confused, "Tell me about the me you met?" he clarified and waited for the response. The redhead observed her carefully for anything Mitsuko may give away.

Mitsuko tensed, she looked away from him as her eyes dulled into a dark dead light blue. Her eyes were lifeless, and she seemed to be far away, _'Naruto-kun.'_

_'Save Sasuke.'_

_'Part of my power…'_

_‘Village... Sasuke... Stain...'_

_‘What will you do?'_

The last smile he gave her, that beautiful smile she believed was something came to mind, and she closed her eyes to hide anything that may be slipping. She turned around, "I'm sorry, but there was a reason why I only told you the simple version of my life. All I will tell you, it that you were a magnificent shinobi and an even greater person," she told him.

The two looked at her worriedly, "Did I die?" he asked her, she turned to look at him with a blank smile.

"Everyone does at one point; I did," she told him passively. She looked down, "That is war…" she said coldly. "Let's eat," she spoke gently, sitting down.

After lunch, Kakashi came back with new clothes and looked refreshed. The little girl beamed at him and took Itachi's hand as she dashed to the back yard. Kakashi looked at Kushina for a second, she smiled, "I'll be with you in a second," she told him. The Hatake sighed and went after the two kids, he knew that Mitsuko was very advanced, but he was unsure how good Itachi was. When he came out, he stopped to watch the blonde talk with the Uchiha cheerfully.

Kakashi's gray eye softened; he had been such a fool for turning away from such a gentle and caring light. Her parents had named her well, child of light, that she was. The girl was now pouting, the Uchiha must have said something she couldn't return, that would annoy her significantly. He decided to make himself present, but before he could say anything, Mitsuko turned to him. "‘Shi-nii, how long are you planning to stand there?" she asked, Itachi turned to him a little surprised, but calmed down quickly.

“Maa-ah, I was just thinking what I can try and teach you,” he said with his hands in his pockets and moved to the field. He wanted to see just how strong Mitsuko truly was, but he had a feeling that what he had seen the day before was nothing compared to the future woman she would become. He eye-smiled at them and did something that shocked both the blonde and himself, he petted her head lovingly.

“You’re acting weird,” the little girl said with narrowed eyes, but other than that, she didn’t brush his hand away.

He laughed and sighed before pulling his hand away, “After practice, let’s visit Obito,” he said. Mitsuko beamed and cheered, completely happy to be able to visit her ‘older brother’ while Itachi only nodded a bit. Kushina came out with a smile, the dress she always wore was gone, and her clothes were different. 

“Are you guys ready?” she asked with a gentle smile, her eyes closed happily.

“Yes!” Mitsuko cheered but froze when the redhead opened her royal eyes. Mischief-ness she had never seen shone in the depths of those purple orbs she loved. With a gulp, she nodded again.

“Good, because after this, I’m sure you would love to just bathe and go to sleep!” she grinned and looked at Kakashi, “While at it, why don’t I train you a bit, too?”

The Hatake shrugged, “If you can work with the three of us, why not?” he told her, and her grin only got wider and darker.

“Um, ‘Shi-nii…” Mitsuko whispered.

“Hmm?”

“I think you should have really, _really_ refused her offer,” she murmured, looking at the insane look on her mother’s face.

“Why?” he asked, confused. Itachi looking at her bemused as well.

The little blonde shrugged, “Just wanted you to rest as long as you could,” she sighed and got ready for what she believed would be Hell Training.

“Alright, we’ll begin stretching. I don’t want any pull muscles and after you will run around the clearing ten times, followed by eight sets of fifty push-ups.”

Itachi’s eyes widened, Kakashi crook a brow, and Mitsuko sighed. Just to make it clear, the clearing was freaking _huge_ , and ten times around, it was about half a lap around the village. They got down on the ground and started to stretch. Kushina came over to them to help them do so better, pulling muscles slowly, but effectively. Mitsuko was by far the most flexible, and Kushina was proud. Kakashi had been in for it, and now he knew why the blonde had suggested sitting it down.

Itachi had been pushed a bit, but not as much as Kakashi. He was still young and flexible. Half an hour later, their run began. The only good thing was that it was fall. If not, they would be burning by now. Another half an hour later, they were panting and sweaty.

“Good, now down on the floor and push!”

Kakashi groaned, his body already hurting after the mission he had. Itachi grunted tiredly, and Mitsuko shook her head.

“Ten sets of twenty-five sit-ups and five sets of forty squats!”

They did just that. All of it. And by the time they got to do something with charka, they required a bit of a break.

“Mom, can we at least get some water?” the little blonde asked, panting a bit. Kushina nodded, eyeing her since the beginning. Her daughter might be small, but she sure had stamina. She had been impressed by her flexibility and now her endurance. She was sure now that Mitsuko knew how to take care of herself while training –even if Mitsuko took things a bit far, just like her.

Itachi was panting on the ground while Kakashi was sitting down, trying to look cool. The last mission had been hard on him, and he really wanted the rest Mitsuko had advised him to take, but there was no going back now. Kushina could be a devil, even his sensei knew when to stop pushing them and more so after a difficult mission.

Mitsuko had gone to the house to retrieve some water and was now back and handing it to Itachi and Kakashi. She stood looking at the sky, drinking slowly while the boys gulped down their beverage. Kushina’s eyes saddened at the distant look her daughter had. The redhead walked over to her and placed her hands on her hips, looking up as well.

“What are you thinking?” she asked softly.

The blonde smiled, “When training was still fun. Where it wasn’t a matter of life and death,” she replied coolly.

The host looked down at her, “How did they capture you?”

“I thought I already told you,” Mitsuko said quietly.

“Not in detail.”

The little girl moved her eyes to meet her mother’s; she held her gaze and sighed. Mitsuko turned around, “Sorry, but the less you know, the better,” she assured Kushina and walked to the center of the field to sit down. The boys were calming down, and the three watched curiously as she sat there.

Mitsuko closed her eyes and tried to relax. Her life had just gone from normal to freaking insane. She wanted to tell them everything, how she died, who the main villains were, who would die, and when. But she couldn’t. Mitsuko had been warned by Kurama before her rebirth. If the truth came to the surface, then it would be best to hide all critical points and tell them the most innocent picture of her life.

She frowned and searched deep within herself, to where the small part of Kurama’s soul was cocooned against her own. She tilted her head when a new rope, a weak one, was forming. The corner of her lips twitched down, it was familiar, the intertwining threads wove into rope made up of different colors. She looked away from it and focused on the red one wrapped around her being protectively. 

The blond-redhead reached towards her own soul, and the red thread wrapped around her arm, pulling her closer to the baby violet color of her soul, and she stopped. Something was awakening in her, something she remembered faintly since it had been barely there when she was Naruto. A protective and safeguarding feeling enveloped her and crept up her arm, connecting the red thread, rope, her soul, and her physical self together.

She smiled as the warmth increased, and something in her called. She opened her inner eye and gasped as she opened her blue eyes.

Everything was glowing; the chakra was flowing vividly through the trees, down the ground, through every leaf and herself. Mitsuko go up and ambled to the nearest tree. She placed her hand on top of it, relaxing instantly as the chakra of the tree connected to her body, trying to feed off of it and keep a hold of it. She shuddered as the blue networks started to change color to a baby violet, and she gulped.

“Mitsuko?” her mother inquired.

The small girl flinched as everything started to dim, the glow she fell in love vanished, and it only left the dull –as it seemed to her now- color. She turned to the curious glances and blinked, “Uh… yes?” she asked unsurely.

“Is something wrong?” Kushina questioned, concerned by the strange behavior.

“Uh… no,” the blond shook her head. “So what’s next?” she sighed at the devilish grin her mother got.

…

Two hours later, Itachi and Kakashi lay on the couch, gasping for the air they still had to get back. Meanwhile, Mitsuko was sitting in a chair with a towel around her neck and sipping some water slowly. Kushina had only stopped since she got a bird from Minato to go talk to Mikoto about Itachi straying over until Fugaku came back.

Kakashi had asked the redhead if, once they were good enough to walk, they could go back to the Hospital to visit Obito. The Jinchuuriki had agreed and left, leaving panting children behind. The silver-haired teen looked at Mitsuko. She was breathing normally now, and she seemed to be in deep thought. He looked at Itachi and wondered how it was that the boy could have even moved a foot in the direction of the house.

The Hatake knew that these two kids would be a force to be reckoned with. If Mitsuko was already this well trained, all by herself, he could only wonder what she had taught Itachi during his mission. They had about six days of training, but he had no idea what Mitsuko herself called that. He got up after his breathing was even and poured more water for himself.

Mitsuko looked up at him and smiled, “Enjoyed my mom’s training?” she asked.

The jonin snorted, “Loved it,” he said sarcastically, “Sensei does a better job at keeping us from over exhausting ourselves.”

Itachi had joined them by now, “Really now?” she asked, pouring some water for him. Itachi glared at her but took a sip.

“Yup, he’s not as wild,” he nodded.

Mitsuko laughed, “Of course he’s not, that’s my mom’s job,” she smirked.

“When will we visit Obito?” Itachi threw in before the blonde really started to compare. He had a few of those speeches over the past week, thank you very much.

“Whenever you two are ready,” Kakashi said.

Instantly, Mitsuko was up and heading to the door, “No time to waste then,” she called over her shoulder.

The boys shook their heads and followed after the girl. She led them to the Hospital, and when they went in, they met the nurse that had escorted her before. Mitsuko grinned sweetly as they passed by the nurse. Soon, she was opening the door to the Uchiha’s room.

“We’re back!” she cheered when she saw Obito sitting up looking over a magazine.

The Uchiha smiled and closed it, “Mitsu!” he then looked behind and blinked, “Itachi,” he said lower.

“Obito,” the heir nodded back, climbing the bed next to Mitsuko and making himself comfortable. “How are you?” he asked after the silence had been too long.

The teen blinked, and smiled sheepishly, “Better, thank you,” he said softly, giving him a small smile.

Mitsuko sighed, “When will you be able to get out of here?”

“Haven’t been told yet,” he frowned.

“Oh, well, what do you want to do?” she asked.

Obito shrugged, and turned to Kakashi, “How’s Rin?”

The silver head blinked, “I haven’t seen her,” he said and sighed, “I’ll go over to her house after this and tell you tomorrow. She’ll visit, you know,” he assured him. The Uchiha nodded, and looked at his cousin, “Is Mikoto-san still on her mission?”

“No,” the younger Uchiha said, “she came back last night.”

That made the teen blink, “Then how are you with Mitsuko?” he asked before he could think over his question. He smiled awkwardly, “I mean, I know she wouldn’t let you just hang out with someone outside the clan, even if I think that’s ridiculous. Of course, I don’t disapprove, I actually love that you chose Mitsuko as your friend. She’s really something, and she will help you a lot. Pretty much strip you from all the Uchiha clan’s uptight rules and all. But I mean, Mikoto-san just wouldn’t let you out of the house just like that…” he bit his lower lip.

Mitsuko beamed at him, “Don’t worry, Obi-nii, hopefully, Itachi will stay with me until Fugaku comes back from his mission,” she nodded.

Itachi looked between the two and had to smile a bit at their similarities. Obito freaked out about this, and pointed at his face, “You’re smiling!” he exclaimed.

Now the boy glared, “And?” he asked.

Obito scratched the back of his head, “Well, truthfully, I haven’t seen you smile for a long time, Itachi. I’ve known you since you were a baby, and I’ve rarely seen you smile,” he said sadly. “I’m delighted you were able to meet this kid,” he nodded towards the blonde, “because it has really lifted something from you. You’ve changed a bit, you know? And I hope you keep that up and change for the better.” He grinned, “And Mitsu, don’t give up on him. We Uchihas are quite stubborn as you’ve seen.”

Mitsuko rolled her eyes, “Well, as if we hadn’t seen that before. Right, Shi-nii?”

Kakashi laughed, “Nope, never before,” he winked at her.

She giggled and smiled happily. She looked at three boys and smiled fondly, “I’m happy,” she said.

The three blinked and couldn’t help but smile at her, “Why’s that?” Obito asked.

“Because I have all of you!” she grinned, jumping off of the bed and turned to look out the window. “It’s nice,” she whispered softly, a sad smile adorned her face.

The boys looked at each other confused and shrugged.

They started talking once more until dusk was close to the horizon, and Kushina picked them up. She told them that Itachi would be staying with them when Kakashi asked what the backpacks were for, and also that she had brought some pajamas for Obito.

Mitsuko was glad, at least she knew Itachi would be safe with them. They said good-bye to Obito and left the Hospital.

“Kakashi, do you want to have dinner with us?” Kushina asked, but he declined politely.

“Thank you, but I have to see how Rin is doing,” he said and bid them good night.

After he disappeared, they went home. Kushina made dinner, and Minato came back while she was getting things ready. 

“Daddy!” Mitsuko had greeted him after he walked through the door. Itachi had followed her and bowed his head a bit in greeting.

Minato laughed as he carried her to the kitchen and ruffled Itachi’s hair as he passed by. The boy had no idea if to be mad or happy that his hair had been messed up, but the smile that crawled over his lips made the decision for him. He quickly followed them to the kitchen.

The blond put Mitsuko down and greeted his wife with a kiss on her cheek, while the children finished setting the table.

The small family and their guest eat while they talked about their day and what they had liked and disliked. They spoke of what would be going on tomorrow and what they could do.

For Itachi, this was different. The feeling he got from this dinner with them, and his family’s was completely different. There was no tense, suffocating atmosphere of awkward silence. There was just warmth and happiness. This was what he began to love and appreciate. This is what Mitsuko had offered him with her friendship, but what was he offering?

There was nothing he was doing for her. While she had taken him from his clueless mother and lonely life, what had he given her? She had saved his life. She had made him feel special. She had made him feel wanted.

But what did Itachi give her and her family?

After they finished eating dinner, they were tired after the long day they had. Kushina said that Mitsuko’s bed was big enough for the two and that she didn’t want Itachi to sleep on the couch or floor. Minato had been against it, but the redhead asked him what could possibly go wrong, they were only four after all.

And so, that’s how they ended up lying on the same bed, with a comfortable silence.

Just when Itachi had been about to pass out, Mitsuko spoke softly, “You know I won’t ask you for anything. But you being my friend is all I will ever ask; that’s all I need, and I will accept nothing less. You don’t have to give me anything more than your friendship, Itachi.”

Itachi bit his bottom lip, a warm feeling was bubbling inside of him, and he didn’t want it to ever disappear. To be cared for like this… he had never had the chance to. And he didn’t want it to ever end. With a soft “thank you,” he went to sleep, followed closely by Mitsuko.

…

The green chakra glowing against the chest was dimming. The person was dying, and there was nothing that could be done. The wound was far too lethal, and there was nothing else to be done. Why couldn’t she save anyone? Why did she have to lose someone again?

She rose from her spot and went to another medic to ask what else there was to do. She was told to keep on looking for wounded shinobi and try to heal them, but not to wander outside their perimeters. She rushed through groaning bodies and kept her hard work. It had been a day since the mission had begun, and they were making little progress.

The mission will be over tomorrow for her. After all, she needed her rest. Being a medic was important, especially for missions like this one. There had only been ten medics that were able to come, four which would leave tomorrow, and six would stay.

Her job was essential. She had to stay alive in order to do her task. Her work was harder than others, whatever happened, she could not die. If she died, many others would follow after her, just because she could not live longer to save others.

She was working so hard, but one of her most beloved had died. Just because she had been weak. But it had been his duty. A medic was the most important of the group; if she died, there would be no one to anchor the group.

But she couldn’t think of that now, she had to concentrate and keep her guard up. It would be no good if she were to-

Blood tainted the ground once more. But this time, she had to get out of this herself. Leaving behind her charge, she went and hid. Quickly healing her wound, she took a deep breath before diving into her work again.

Four would go home tomorrow. She had to stay alive for six more hours, then she’d be able to go back.

…

The light lit up as footsteps echoed through the room. It was cold, even with all the little flames heating the glass containers.

Today had been a fascinating day, even if it was one of the ones he added to his most-hated-days list. It was bad enough that a shinobi, barely 23 years old, was made Hokage apprentice instead of him! How dare that old fool pick Minato instead of him?

But no matter, he had come to realize that he no longer wanted to be Kage. He had a new ambition. Yes, those blue eyes encouraged him to finally accept the little idea he had been toying for a while, swimming around his head. But the boy… oh, the boy would serve him well. The incredible eyes of the Uchiha would help him in his search for power. His unlimited hunger for knowledge would finally be satisfied with the Sharingan. 

How else would he be able to master all jutsus in the world? And the boy’s body would help as well. His little experiment that he had begun a few months ago would be able to progress magnificently by the contribution of Uchiha Itachi.

Now the problem, how would he get his hands on the boy? It would be difficult since he was the heir of the Uchiha, but as of now, Fugaku wasn’t in town. He’ll be able to get away with it. After all, Mikoto wasn’t that powerful. Sure, she was a jonin, but he knew better.

But what of the little blonde? She had something that he wanted, but he couldn’t place his finger on it. She would be strong, he knew. She would be gain power by time, an incredible power that no one would be able to control unless studied correctly. And he was sure once he knew what had made his curiosity perked up, he would be able to control the same power.

Knowledge was everything in this world. If you had the answers no one else knew, you’d always win. Strength is knowledge, and he could never get enough. He wanted to learn more, to become stronger, and once he was, destroy the place where he had been denied too many times already. He would become the leader of his own village and gather the best of the best to become the greatest.

There will be no one to stop him, no such Yondaime Hokage or stupid old fools. He would be the only one. No one would beat him, no one would have the power to hurt him.

He would be invincible! But first, he had to get his hands on a certain Uchiha Itachi and the blonde girl. 

Now, his first move would be to find out who that girl was and a plan to get both children under his control. It would be easy enough, there were only four or so.

He’ll train them, and when they were powerful enough, he’ll take everything from them.

Yes, that sounded like an excellent plan, and no one would know.

No one.

…

Kakashi knocked on the door again, and finally, a woman came out. “Kakashi-kun, how can I help you?” the brunette asked.

“Can I speak with Rin?” he asked softly.

Rin’s mother blinked, “She’s on a mission. All medics available were called for assistance,” she replied.

“Oh,” he didn’t know what to say. Kakashi looked at her, “When Rin gets home, could you tell her to meet me at Sensei’s place?” he asked her, and she nodded.

“Of course,” she smiled, “she should be here tomorrow.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” he bowed and left. That was weird; he didn’t remember Minato mention anything about that mission. Maybe the Sandaime had ordered it; that seemed more likely. Well, tomorrow he would tell her that Obito survived, and well on the road of recovery. Then they could visit him with Mitsuko and Itachi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be scarce and slow because I want to finish this story before making regular updates. I said on FF.net that I am starting to write chapter 24 and that I was only brushing around 15%-20% of my plot and outline, so hopefully, I can get this wrapped up in 65-100 chapters!
> 
> Also, there will be slash on this (I wasn't planning on it, but like always, my writing got the best of me and wrote itself in the fic), but at the most, I will show a kiss between the two; it'll mostly be heavily hinted. I plan to do a side story about them if not many are okay with me integrating it in the main story. Let me know if I should post it aside or incorporate it here. 
> 
> Drum roll! It's KakaObi/ObiKaka

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone is taking care of themselves and wish you all the best of health!


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